


Stories from Atollon

by KikaKatTIOI



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Action/Adventure, Atollon (Star Wars), Episode Related, Family, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Light Angst, Past Character Death, The Force
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:00:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 79
Words: 104,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22244488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KikaKatTIOI/pseuds/KikaKatTIOI
Summary: (Originally posted on FanFiction) (Both Drabbles and Story Arcs)A little girl, Nitza, and her giant friend, Bendu, live on the peaceful planet of Atollon. That is until strangers from the other worlds come to stay. Stories from Atollon suddenly begin to unfold and grow...(Intro chapter has more detail)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	1. Intro

**Since I got a lot of Kudos for moving my first Star Wars fic here from FanFiction, I'd thought I'd continue to do that with my other SW fic. I'll be posting a couple of chapters a day since the story is basically finished.** **The story starts before the Rebels establish Chopper Base but will soon progress into episode related works. Some entries will be drabbles and some with over-arking plots.** **This is just an intro to more details of the story but you can just go right ahead and start reading the chapters I've posted so far.**

**So...**

**When the second trailer for the 2016 version of Pete's Dragon came out, It was around the time Bendu was first introduced. Both Elliot and Bendu have amazing designs, but I fell in love with Bendu more for the idea of him being a balance of the Force in nature. What a concept! But how did Elliot become just as important to me? When Pete's Dragon finally premiered I adored Elliot and Pete's interaction. At the same time, Holocrons of Fate came out, and Bendu's smiled when Ezra and Kanan hugged... I absolutely lost it.**

**I knew it! I knew there was something that I could connect with the two franchises. If Bendu can have as much joy as Elliot did when interacting with Pete, then why not ask the question...** **What if a little girl had been left alone on Atollon years before Chopper Base, and just became friends with the Bendu?** **Thus my character Nitza sprung out of my head. But she couldn't be at equals with Bendu.**

**It had to be s** **omeone young, curious, wanting to learn about the world she was left behind in. The person would have to be vulnerable to the environment of Atollon, and Bendu would have to be there to help protect her and guide her. As fragile and new to life as a flower bud, I chose the name Nitza which is Hebrew for flower bud. And perhaps, in turn, this girl could bring out more of the Bendu then just smiles and calming wisdom. At least more Bendu because I personally felt there wasn't enough Bendu in season 3 XD.** **Pete's Dragon, Star Wars style. Let's take a look...**


	2. The Beginning

Giants, they were nothing but tall tales to five-year-old Nitza. It was nothing but stuff to distract from the important things in life, such as the future. It was all her parents seemed to talk about. Her future, their future, the future of the Empire. Nitza didn't think of it at all like a boring subject. Being five-years-old, all she could do was take in information. And what she so far knew was that this Empire is what made her and her family travel all the time. Exploring worlds is what gave Nitza entertainment, the need to know more of what was out there. And there was always the question that came with each new world explored. Nitza always heard how the new planet could provide for this Empire, for her family's future, for her own future and the question was, was that it? Couldn't there be more than this future?

There was… they were the Giants.

And how this came to pass, started out with an unhappy beginning.

Nitza and her parents were on a special trip, having taken private transport to a planet called Atollon. With her father at the steering of the land speeder, her mother sat next to him on the passenger seat. Nitza was in the back, looking at the surroundings of this new world. Though it felt warm with its tan orange soil, cool shade was provided by tall coral-like flora that grew like trees and stretched as tall as several story-buildings. Nitza couldn't help but point at each and every one. Her mother would look back, smile, and acknowledge the presence of the coral mesa with her daughter. Her father pointed out how much fun it would be to climb to the top, probably make lookout post for the Empire if they wanted to set up here. It left Nitza with the exciting feeling of climbing them and being able to probably see the entire surface from the top. But the exciting feeling was cut short. It's when the spider came out of nowhere.

It all happened too fast for Nitza's little mind to even comprehend that what happened… happened. All she could do was stare at the fire engulfing the crushed vehicle. On her knees, arms wrapped around her own body for comfort, Nitza cried at the sight. It was just… so scary to see… The creature that caused the crash now lay dead burning next to the vehicle, having died instantly on impact, but it wasn't the only one. Her parents had come to the same fate, crushed underneath the vehicle. Though Nitza's eyes saw destruction, her mind distracted her to a different sight. Her future.

Nitza shoulders shook with every choking breath she took as she sobbed. Her family was gone, she would never receive the love and care of her parents again. She closed her eyes, letting tears run down her cheeks and down to the dry earth. All the times her mother would hug her, tuck her into bed, gone. She sniffled on instinct, trying to keep her nose from running. The many times her father would be there to teach her to read, or draw…. Gone.

Nitza looked own at her hands, holding up something she grabbed from the ground. It was a chain that had fallen out of the land speeder with her when it collided with the first spider. The chain had a tag and etched into it was the symbol of the Empire. It was her father's… or at least, it once belonged to him. Nitza put it around her neck to hang like a necklace. Holding the silver tag in her palm she continued to cry. Nitza was alone, she'd be forever alone. And alone, for how long? She looked around her. More of the spider creatures came out from behind small hills or from tunnels in the ground. If she wasn't going to be alone, then she was going to be eaten. Gone herself. What was her future? Nitza was too scared to know.

As she thought about how the end, the feeling of death might be, the creatures got closer and closer to her. With each step they took, the more she began to panic, her cries fading replaced with short breaths. Nitza's thoughts of death mixed with the fear of the spiders hurting her were too much. She was only five, so all these thoughts were scrambled in her young mind, incomprehensive.

She couldn't comprehend death, she couldn't even comprehend life. The spiders were just a few feet away now

She couldn't understand what had happened to her parents and why, it had been so fast, so much.

The Spiders were getting closer, she would not survive.

They were right in front of her…

She ran.

Turning tail, she went up a hill behind her that had not been blocked by the spiders. As soon as she got to the top, the creatures figured out what was happening and chased after her. She ran through a small path surrounded by a forest of the coral flora. It was dark now as the sun began to set making the path in front of her dark and ominous. Being little, and feeling sad and scared, she had little energy in her. Nitza had only run for a minute, her small strides taking her no deeper into the coral forest until she stopped to catch her breath. A few moments later, the sound of hissing was heard. She looked back to see the creatures, three of them, had caught up to her. She froze up for a second, her feet rooted to the ground as she then began to tremble. Adrenaline was going through her veins, shocking her, keeping her from running away. Nitza began to cry, knowing she couldn't do anything to stop it.

She fell to her knees out of tiredness and defeat. It was over. The creatures closed in on her, surrounding her on all sides except for behind her. Nitza looked up at the one just in front of her, her eyes becoming glossy as tears began to form. She bit her lip, trying to keep back a cry of fear as the spider leaned down so its face was just inches from hers. When it hissed, Nitza felt the heat of its breath come her way, the smell of something rotting evident. She stared into its dark beady eyes, almost as black as the night that surrounded them. It was in those eyes she saw her reflections, her fear. She was going to die. Nitza kept crying. She let the tears fall as she bowed her head and closed her eyes.

The Spiders each took one step forward, ready to grab her, take her to their cave, eat her…

But they only managed to take a step forward until a sound like thunder was heard from behind Nitza. With their mandrels, the spiders made nervous clicking sounds and backed away from the girl. Noticing they had stopped and heard the sound of thunder grow louder, Nitza's crying had ceased immediately. Her little heart continued to beat fast, but for some reason, the sound of the thunder, and the fact it scared the spiders, was reassuring. Nitza looked back, seeing what the source was. It wasn't thunder for sure, but the source was coming from behind a cluttered forest of a tall coral mesa. Nitza squinted her eyes, seeing that some of the coral was moving, and getting bigger… or closer?

Two of the spiders left in a hurry, each one going in different directions as the thunder sound got louder coming from just behind the line of coral stacks. Nitza fully turned around now, watching as the moving coral came out of the shadowy forest into the light of the moon as it began to shine brighter with the coming night. Nitza gave a loud gasp, seeing a giant creature, a beast, unlike anything the girl could ever imagine. It was almost as tall as the coral forest. It had horns on its head, looking much like the coral flora around them. In fact, its shell from its arms to the back and all the way to the tail was coral-like and acting like large scales sticking out of it. It had stumpy back feet almost hidden bellow a wide chest and a long beard that grew from the chin and even its shoulders. The front arms were longs making it walk on all fours and support itself on the front from the knuckles. Its face was ape-like, large crusty eyebrows almost hiding white almost pupil-less eyes.

The spider who stayed behind did not move when the beast approached, that is until the beast gave a large grunt, air flaring from its nostrils. The spider made a quick retreat into a cave in a nearby hill. Nitza looked once to the spider, then at the beast. They were scared of the big monster. The question was, should she be too?

"What's this?" The beast said in a booming, and yet, curious and calm tone. The creature bent down, their muzzle now inches away from Nitza's nose as it gave one big sniff. Nitza sniffled and began to tear up again. Was this thing like the spiders? Did it mean to hurt her? "Are-are you going to eat me?" She asked, her voice cracking as she looked at the creature with sad eyes.

The creature blinked, then suddenly raised its head and gave a hearty laugh. For a moment, Nitza felt… happy… his laugh made her feel so much safer. She even stopped crying, leaving only drying tears on her face. But in remembering the situation she was in, and not knowing the intentions of the creature, she became afraid once again. The creature stopped laughing, but kept a smile on its face as it lowered its head to Nitza's level again and said with curiosity, "You think because I'm big that I'm some sort of man-eating monster?"

Nitza wiped away the last of her tears with her sleeves. Right away the response was yes. But what was the creature getting at? Was it trying to say it wasn't going to eat her? The girl could only stare. And now that she had more time to think, she came to the realization that it talked. It was talking to her like… any other person. Was this beast a creature, or a person? Seeing as how she hadn't responded, the creature said, "Your kind… so simple-minded… so blind."

Having now relaxed, with only her mind being the one in disarray, Nitza asked with more confidence now, "What's that mean?"

"You think what you see is what's there, but you never think to look deeper."

Confused, she asked again, "What's that mean?"

The creature chuckled again, "One so small, you can only comprehend so much." As if it suddenly occurred to him, the creature raised an eyebrow and asked, "Where do you come from?"

"Um…" Nitza began sheepishly. She didn't know how to respond. "I don't know. Mommy and daddy and me always move around. We don't stay…." remembering her parents, Nitza faltered. Frowning, she looked back in the direction of the hill she had gone over. She could see smoke, and the glow of the fire now became visible as the sun gad set and night took over. They were gone…

The creature followed her line of vision, getting up on his hind feet to get a better view of what was over the hill. He saw enough to tell him what had happened, and who this little girl might be. He went down on all fours again, kicking up dust as he did. Nitza had to shield herself from the cloud until it dispersed. The creature bent down once again, this time saying with a solemn tone, "Is there anyone else here?"

Nitza shook her head from side to side slowly, without looking away from the sight of the smoke. Her parents were the only ones and the Empire… whoever… would they come? They wouldn't know what happened. They wouldn't come. She would be alone.

She heard the familiar sound of hissing and she became frightened. She looked up at a cave close by. There a spider creature stood, eyeing her with dark soulless eyes. She wanted to get up and run but she ended up stumbling on to her bottom and scooting back with her feet. She won't be able to get far, she would be killed. Before the spider could take a step outside the cave, the giant put one large hand down on the ground between the spider and Nitza his coral-like arm blocking the spider's view of the young girl. The creature didn't attack, merely stared at the spider until the legged-being turned around and disappeared inside the cave again.

Out of shock of what happened, Nitza looked at the creature wide-eyed. "How did you do that?"

"One needs to be at peace."

"At peace?"

"Be calm."

"But, but how? They want to eat me. And when they do I'll…. I'll…"

Understanding what she meant, the creature said nonchalantly, "Such is the way of things…. That is if you do not remain at peace."

"But, but- I don't want to die!" she began to cry again, closing her eyes tight to keep the tears back. This thing was saying she would die. And for a moment he had her feel secure. Why was this happening? Suddenly she felt a large presence around her. She opened her eyes and gasped.

The Creature had put his giant hand around her to shield her. As she stopped crying, the creature said, "Is that what you think will happen? You will die?"

"My-my mommy and daddy are gone. No one can help me. Those spiders want to eat me. I can't run."

"Then you have sealed your fate."

"What?"

"Say you will die, you will die."

"No, you said it."

"I did not. I said it may be true if you do not remain at peace. Your future is something you determine, little one. The way to do that is by knowing the present."

The present? Now? But now didn't matter, did it? What would 'now' change anything? "I don't know… what..."

"A small mind can only learn so much. Time will help you understand." He noticed the spider peaking out through the cave entrance again, and then he looked at Nitza. Time was something she didn't have. He suddenly felt the need to protect this girl, even though it wasn't his place to intervene with nature. Should he listen to his instincts or nature? The Giant gave a loud sigh, letting the back of his hand go down, flat on the ground. "Come with me."

When he said that, Nitza suddenly figured what he was doing. "You want to help me?"

For a second, the expression on his face, that of calm, turned to surprise and even doubt. Nitza wondered what he thinking. Was he surprised that he was helping her? Was he wondering if he should try and help, or as he said before, let things happen? But as soon as she saw it, the surprise turned back to knowing and he said again, "Come."

Nervously, Nitza stood up on shaky feet. She climbed on to his palm, and she noticed how rough they felt at the touch. She even stroked her soft young hands to feel the comparison. The feeling made her giggle, for the first time since the accident. When she sat down on his palm immediately the Giant raised it's hand and brought her up so that she was level with his eyes. "Wow…" she gasped, becoming more and more aware of his immensity. The giant chuckled at her wondrous gaze. Then she asked, "What are you?"

"I am Bendu, the Bendu."

"I am Nitza…. Just…. Nitza."


	3. Daily Life

The sound of running was heard through a narrow path between a cluster of coral trees. Heavy breathing came with it as the source ran out into a wider path. A girl, around ten, came running out into the open, running around large coral trees that grew sparsely around the wide path. She wore clothing that looked small for her. A skirt and along sleeve shredded by age at the hems, having turned brown with earth and showing skin only up to her knees and elbows.

The sound of several large feet chasing after her grew closer. She looked back once and continued on, going faster. She was just about to reach a part of the land where the coral grew closer together. But a giant spider creature jumped out from behind the tree line. The girl skidded to a stop and then tried to turn to go the other way. The group of spiders that had been chasing from behind her surrounded her from behind, so she stopped. They hissed.

But the girl didn't panic. She whispered to herself, "Just like Bendu says... they feel my feelings..." She took a deep breath, cleared her thoughts, then smiled. She let a new energy rise in her as she said, "Aw… you beat me, again, yes you did." She stretched her legs and said, "Maybe next time I'll beat you in running. Krykna can't always be fast. No, no, no."

As if they felt her playfulness instead of her fear, the krykna disperse. One staid behind, jumping up and down. The girl looked at it and said, "What? You want to try again? Again, again?" She reached a handout and patted the spider on its large bulge. It closed its eyes. The girl said, "One day, I'm gonna find out how you can feel my feelings."

The krykna suddenly gave a screech and turned to run. The girl cocked her head sideways, wondering why it had suddenly run. Then the sound of slow heavy footsteps was heard, the earth-shaking as a shadow loomed over her. She smiled and turned around, seeing the silhouette of a giant creature as it blocked the light of the sun. "Hi, Bendu!"

The Bendu moved out of the sun ways so the light would shine on him, showing off his layers of the coral-like shell as well as his horns. "You've been busy then, Nitza?" He said in his booming, but calm voice. He then walked around the girl and in the direction where the krykna disappeared.

Nitza walked alongside him, speed walking so that she could keep up with his slow but long strides. She said, "I played chase with krykna today. Chase all day. It was their turn to catch me. I…. lost… again, I did, I did."

"And you feel bad?"

"I've been doing this for years. Many, many times. I still can't beat them. I'm too slow, yes I am."

"And how would you know? Perhaps you are quick, but they are much quicker."

Nitza thought about this, turning her quick strides into skips so that she can both think and keep up. Then she said, "Oh…. I see. I'm not slow, no, no, no. I just have to learn to be quicker. How do I do that?"

"Practice."

"But I've been doing this forever. Many times!"

"Practice." And then the Bendu gave a smirk.

This made Nitza whine. "Bendu…." She then picked up her pace so that she was upfront. Then she stopped. As Bendu came towards her, he held out a hand. She jumped on and then began to slowly climb up his arm. He continued forward, all fours hitting on the ground with a loud thump, drowning out Nitza's grunts of struggle as she got to climb on his shoulder. When she reached his back she climbed up onto his head and sat on top. She rested on her stomach watching the flat ground around them pass by, the new height making it seem like the world was going by her so quick.

After about five minutes, the ground on the side of the path rose as the path fell away. Nitza caught a glimpse on the right side before the ground could rise any higher, a small river. Feeling the heat of the day, she stood up and said, "Let's go and play in the water!" She climbed around Bendu's horn closest to the right side and then reached the tip. Just as the ground got closer and high enough, she jumped and landed into a clumsy role. Bendu hadn't agreed to go but seeing her already running away, he gave a slight sigh and continued on the path to get around to the river.

Nitza reached it first, getting to the bank and then running into the water. It was shallow, making it easier to stay up and run around. She kicked up the water playfully for a while, then heard the scattering of feet. She looked to her right to see a group of little creatures with shells, tiny feet, and two eyes, running along the bank upriver. "Hello, little dokmas." She looked back to see where they were going and saw Bendu coming upriver having taken a longer route around to it. She said, "Slow poke, come on, come on! Let's play!"

As she ran up the river and kicked up some water, the Bendu called out, "You're going to get wet." He looked at the dokma creatures as they stopped to watch him. That was normal for him, really. He ignored them and continued on.

"So? It's fun. Yep, yep, yep," Nitza called back.

"Fun then?" He said slightly amused to see she didn't care.

Nitza didn't answer, or look back, she just kept going. That is until she felt a small wave of water drench her from behind. She froze but, arms up and stiff, but she laughed. She turned around, expecting Bendu to be right behind her. But he was still a couple of tree lengths away. He pretended to have a serious look on his face as he avoided eye contact. Nitza shook her hands and her head, getting rid of the water. Then she said with hands on her hips. "Bendu… no fair… you can't use the Force… no, no, no."

He let a smile give it away and he got closer to her. "Who says I can't in such a simple situation? And who says I'm using it?" Nitza looked at him confused. The Bendu had taught her everything she knew about this planet. How to interact with the animals and how to find food and water. But if there is one thing that she always has trouble understanding... it's the idea of the Force. Bendu knew it was hard for her to understand the idea of energy surrounding the universe because she wasn't as open to it as he was, yet she tried to learn.

Right now though, she pushed away her confusion and said, "If you keep doing it, then I'll splash you!" As soon as Bendu had gotten close to her, Nitza kicked up some water towards him. He then raised a large hand and splashed the surface of the river near Nitza. The splatter hit her but instead of getting angry she laughed and ran up the river, this time Bendu following behind her with a smile. They would often splash at each other as they went along the shallow water, Nitza enjoying the fun of it more. Bendu on the other hand just enjoyed watching Nitza have fun.

They soon got to a point of the river where it turned cooler, deeper, and drifted into a cave. Knowing that the small shallow water would turn one of many that ran beneath the surface, Nitza turned to Bendu and said, "Water's gone, game over." She then got a wide smile to cross her face as an idea came to mind. She then ran past him and decided to go upriver and said, "Let's go the other way, go, go!"

Bendu shook his head but smile, knowing that she had never-ending energy, or at least it seemed that way every day. Every day on this planet that Bendu had resided for over millennia. This planet that Nitza called Atollon. "Bendu! Come, come, come!" The little girl called out and soon the giant followed.


	4. Strangers part 1

Bendu and Nitza took the chance of a rare windy day to trek up to the higher ground. They went to a spot where a large cluster of trees grew. They rose higher and bigger than most of the coral mesa around the forest. This was, to Nitza, known as High Trees. When they got to the first tree, Nitza climbed off Bendu's head and ran towards the base of the tree. Usually, she'd jump from Bendu's head and grab on to the nearest coral leaf branch. But the one closest to the ground was still too high for her to reach. She yelled back to Bendu, "I'm going up!" and then she used naturally made pivots in the trunk of the tree to climb up.

"Very well," he replied. He looked around at the small coral leaves that grew tall surrounding High Tree. Suddenly he heard a call. He looked on to one bushel of coral leaves, seeing on top was a bird. A stubby looking creature with a long tail and big eyes. A Convor.

Nitza climbed the trunk of the tree to the top. It always took her a while to climb this High Trees. She would always say it was because it was the size of fifty stacked Bendu, to which the giant would reply she exaggerated. When she got to the top Nitza saw the forests of coral trees scattered around and the paths that would extend as far as the horizon. "And even farther…. Very far…."

Looking down, she yelled out, "Hey Bendu, why don't we ever… Bendu?" Nitza noticed that he was no longer bellow High Tree where she had left him. "Bendu?" She went back to climb down the trunk of High Trees, making her way to the ground. Looking around, she saw nothing but small coral trees or single leaf clusters. But then she saw it. One giant bushel looked out of place with its leaves growing in a pattern. She ran up to it and then got on all fours, supporting herself from her knuckles. In her throat, she made a low rumble like sound.

The large mass began to move, rising out of the ground to reveal Bendu as he too made a low rumble sound in his throat. When he looked down at her, he said, "You're getting very good at finding me… and sounding like me."

"Yep, yep, yep!" Nitza then asked, "Are you getting tired?"

"Yes…" He said, his voice drifting. Nitza became worried. He only ever did that when he wasn't sure of something.

And when he wasn't sure of something, it led to something else. She then noticed that there was a convor sitting on his horn. "Does the convor feel something? Did you tell the convor something?" She asked. The convor gave a cry and then flew off, away from High Trees. This time, in a sad tone, Nitza asked, "Do you have to sleep again soon?"

The Bendu didn't answer, he just put his hand down so that Nitza could climb on. "Let's go home."

Home was everywhere for them, but when Nitza was little, she always called a large deep pit surrounded by small coral stacks their home. It's only where they slept every day. Bendu went up to the one coral tree that grew with a wide trunk. A part of it was naturally hollowed so that when Bendu raised his hands up to it, Nitza would climb off him and be able to fit snug into the hollow. It was wide enough for legroom and tall enough for her to stand in, and the daily heat became trapped inside so that through the cold night she would sleep warm.

She looked at the wall, seeing the many simple drawings she had etched into the hollow. Many of them were of the animals that lived on Atollon. Some were of the Bendu and even stick like drawings of herself. Hanging by a hand-made hook, Nitza saw a metal chain with a symbol for a pendent. Nitza sighed. She felt a tugging in her heart, a longing, and with it came a memory. She may have been little when she had first come to Atollon, but there were some things from before then that will never go away.

The chain belonged to her parents. The meaning of the circular symbol long forgotten with her life, but the faces of her parents and their voices were crystal clear. And that was all. Every night she saw the chain, remembered her parents, but it helped remind her of her time now. she wasn't alone as she had feared when they died.

Nitza pulled her head out of the hollow and looked below the leaf under her. She could see part of Bendu getting ready to sleep below the tree. Usually, she was all right with it, but sometimes his periods of sleep brought long… lonely days. "How long this time? Please not long…. No, no, no…"

"However long it may be." He knew that even in teaching her what the Force was, her little to no connection to it would not be enough to make it fully understandable to her. "I must learn of what is happening. You must sleep now and enjoy the days that I rest." That was hard when one was a giant embodiment of balance in the Force. Again, something Nitza would never understand. That's why he taught her everything about Atollon; How to get along on her own when he had to meditate on a disturbance within the Force. He didn't want Nitza to be sad, he wanted her to feel safe and happy. Safe he had down, but happy, he was still trying. This was a growing child he took care of after all.

Nitza trusted his word. He always woke up sooner or later. He always did. Though she had many questions, she had learned early on that not all of them could be answered. She crawled back into her hollow and laid down curled up. "Night, Night, Bendu."

"A good night to you as well, Nitza." And the Bendu adjusted himself to tuck his head into his chest, wrap his arms around him, and blend in with his surroundings as to not be disturbed for a long time.


	5. Strangers part 2

Nitza woke up to hear the morning hoots of the convor, the light of the rising sun shining through the opening of the hollow. Sitting up on her feathered bedding, Nitza stretched her arms and gave a loud yawn.

Getting excited for a new day, Nitza stood up quickly, leaving the groggy, low energy behind so that the high energy coursed through her. She was out the hollow in a flash, standing on the leaf before jumping down to land on Bendu. Nitza crouched on to one of his coral shells on his back. She then made her way down to the ground so that she could walk around him to get to the front. She knew he was still in his meditative sleep. No sound of snoring, slow breathing, the camouflage so well done that there was no sign of a giant body underneath the clump of coral-like mass.

Nitza sighed. He had been like this for five days. She knew he had sometimes gone longer, but he had also taken shorter meditative sleeps before, too. She turned to walk out of the Pit.

Sometime later as the sun reached noon, Nitza found a way to occupy herself. "Where are you?" She cooed as she moved around a flat clearing with holes scattered around randomly. She would get down in a squat and look through each hole. After about five different tries she peeked into one and saw what she was looking for. "Ha! I found you. Yes, I did!" she reached in and suddenly felt nothing. Coming out of a hole two feet away, a dokma crawled out and scurried away. "Come back here, Print!" She ran to the dokma, Print, and picked it up to hold it facing her. "I got you, sneaky you, Print." She then pulled Print close to her chest, holding him with one hand, and the other stroking across the right side of the shell that had an unusual swirl print for a dokma. Print reacted by closing his eyes and relaxing.

Suddenly, two other dokma came running out of their holes. Nitza let Print down to let him run with the others. She began to follow them and even began to skip alongside them. They then went around a corner, finding a path that went through a cluster of coral trees. Suddenly, Nitza yelled, "Run, run, run!" and she and the dokma ran back the other way, taking shelter behind a bushel of coral. Two krykna ran out of the path and onto the flat land where the dokma's holes were scattered. The krykna stopped just by the cluster of coral leaves and searched through some random holes by pocking their legs in as far as they could. Then they left, clearing the area for Nitza, Print, and the other dokma. Nitza laughed out load, making the dokma creatures jump a little. She then said through fits of laughter. "They never saw us, no, no, no!"

Suddenly, the krykna came running back towards them. Nitza gave a yelp as the dokma with Print ran into the holes. Nitza stood still, clearing her mind so that she would not let any negative emotion like fear grab the krykna's attention. She felt like she had succeeded as they ran past her without noticing her. She sighed and said, "Phew, that was close, very, ver—huh?"

More krykna were coming down the clearing, some dispersing into larger holes that lined the clearing. Others took to hiding under coral trees, and some continued to run towards her. She dodged out of the way, trying to stay on her feet and keep from getting knocked down. After the stampeded of Krykna had gone, a couple of convors came flying out of nowhere, hiding back in the hollows of the coral trees or under leaflets.

Back at the pit, Bendu had been deep in his sleep, trying to find the source of this unbalance. The thing is though, it wasn't as much as a shift in the Force, but more like a warning. That's as far as Bendu got before he felt….

Bendu quickly rose out of his camouflaged state, getting on all fours and looking around frantic, "Nitza…"

Back with the girl, Nitza was trying to understand why the krykna had suddenly run in a mass. They're usually around in groups no more than three, but this was almost the whole population around the area. "What… just… happened—"

All of a sudden, something huge flew over the clearing, making a sound like continuous thunder. Nitza yelled, running on instinct under the cover of a coral tree to hide. More and more of the flying object flew by making a sound before disappearing over the horizon. Nitza curled up, her eyes closed as she tried to calm down from the sudden scare. She was afraid to look, but hearing the sounds they made disappear along with them into the horizon, she decided to take a small peek. She crawled to the edge and looked up. These shiny objects were bigger then krykna. They were made of metal and had stiff and outstretches wings. When the small ones were gone, bigger ones followed behind. Their sizes were various, even bigger then Bendu. Some were very wide with massive wingspans and some were very narrow with no wingspan at all.

Nitza suddenly realized she had seen something like this before. Not exactly like it, but she had seen shiny objects fly. "It's not shiny its…. Metal… they're… ships…." A sudden memory came. She was in someone's arms as she excitedly pointed at a white and brand new ship. This someone that held Nitza was someone older than her but looked much like her. Nitza called her, "Mommy…."

She stepped back into hiding, holding her head as it throbbed with the pain of the sudden memory. These ships sparked a memory forgotten long ago. She remembered seeing a giant triangle shape ship, but that's all. What did her parents have to do with such things? Nitza peeked out again. The ships were gone. As she stood up, she looked at the Horizon to see they all had flown towards High Trees. She wondered if her parents were somehow affiliated with these ships. Nitza suddenly became confused. Why would her parents by in these ships? They were gone. But… why still try and look?

"Nitza…" came a gruff, worried voice. The girl suddenly forgot her worries, pure joy filling her as she turned around and ran towards the giant standing not far away.

"BENDU!" As she leaped towards him, Bendu bent down so that his snout was where Nitza landed. She gave it a big hug as she said, "I'm so, so, so happy you're awake."

"I can see that," the Bendu said as she let go and stood in front of his face. He said, "Are you all right?"

She knew he was talking about the ships. "Yep, yep, yep," She responded joyously, then she frowned and looked worried towards Bendu. He had woken up just as the ships had arrived. "Bendu? Why are there ships here?"

Bendu said dramatically, "I do not know… I sense though that they are not entirely hostile."

"You mean there are good people here? Good, good, good?"

"Perhaps."

"Why?"

"Again, I do not know. We will find out in time."

Bendu held out his hand for Nitza to climb upon. Reaching back, Bendu put Nitza on his shoulder. The girl sat there, hanging on tight as the Bendu lumbered away from High Trees where the ships had gone. Thinking about the idea of ships with people, Nitza suddenly became nervous. People. Not creatures, but two-legged and… people. Nitza hadn't seen anyone else like that in so long, she didn't know what it would be like to see people again. What were they like?


	6. Strangers part 3

Only a day had gone by and already there were signs of the strangers who had flown in on their ships were making a permanent stay.

Nitza went up the next day early before dawn to avoid Bendu. Nitza may not have told him, but she knew Bendu would be able to tell what her intentions were and he would most likely stop her. But her curiosity held no bounds, so she had to go see what the strangers were doing here.

That's how she found herself finding something she had never seen before in a clearing just a little ways away from the Pit. Standing tall but almost as short as her, a sort of stick made out of metal was planted into the ground. She noticed that several dokma were encircled around it, including a familiar oddly marked one. "Print!"

The little dokma heard his name and began to leave the group. A hiss from a nearby cave forced him back. Demira looked, seeing a couple of krykna hiding just a couple feet away in a deep cave. They were hissing towards the dokma. "Something's wrong, very, very wrong." She went up to the oddly shaped metal stick and poked it. It did nothing. But because Nitza poked it, it looked like it affected the krykna because they shied away into their dark cavern. Nitza concluded that this stick was the reason for the krykna's behavior, not the dokma. After all, dokmas were one of their food sources. "Hmmm, looks like dokmas found a way to not get eaten. Yes, they did." She bent down to grab Print and move him away from the stick. "Why are krykna afraid and not you?"

Suddenly, the sound like that of a rumble was heard from the Pit. "Uh, oh, I'm in trouble, yes I am." She carried Print with her back to the Pit. When she got there, she saw the Bendu and put Print down. The dokma went scurrying down the side of the Pit and then across towards Bendu excitedly. Nitza was much slower, getting nervous as to what Bendu would say about sneaking off. He said nothing as soon as she got in front of him. Looking up, with a sheepish grin, she said, "You… called… me...?"

Knowing he wasn't fooled by her innocent look, Nitza sighed and said, "I wasn't going to go far, not far at all—"

He interrupted her, but kept his calm. "I do not want you near them, not until we know they're true intentions."

"Don't you know how to feel… feelings? Maybe they are nice."

"They are too far, and I do not intend to get closer. We must let them move on their own. Explore. When they came near, then I'll know. Until then, you stay near the Pit. Understood?"

"Yes." Nitza did keep that promise to a certain extent. Sometime later in the day, Nitza had gone to play where the ground rose higher into a series of hills. She was giggling as she hid behind a coral tree. She peeked around the trunk not seeing anyone in that direction. She then giggled and then looked the other way. A giant Krykna was suddenly in her view. "Ah!" She stepped back and fell on her back. The action caused her to laugh, letting the krykna know she was all right. As she sat up, she said, "Ok, ok, I find you. Go, go!" she gave the krykna time to run around the hills before she went looking for it. When she made a turn around a bend, she called out, "I'm coming to get you! Yes, I am, yes I am!" She then stepped into a clearing but froze on the spot. There, stationed and unmoving, was a ship.

Nitza squeaked and ran back hiding behind the bend of the hill. She then peeked over to see why the ship was there. It was one of the smaller ships, looking to fit only one person inside. But the person who possibly flies the ship was nowhere to be found. Nitza stepped out around the bend and slowly walked up to the ship. As she did, she went past a metal stick that had been planted into the ground the same way as the one from earlier near the pit. When she was a couple feet away, she stopped getting near the ship. She looked around, making sure no one was around again. she may be curious about the people's doings on Atollon, but she had promised Bendu she wouldn't get near the people themselves.

Seeing no one, Nitza went up to the ship. By then, some krykna, especially the one she was playing with earlier, came out of a nearby cavern to inspect what was going on. Seeing it was Nitza, and they felt she meant no harm, they stayed a couple ways away from the ship as Nitza inspected it. She walked around it, crawling under it and poking it from almost every corner. It was just so amazing that something that looked so heavy could fly. What kept it in the air? What did the pilot inside have to do? "Pilot…" she said remembering the word her parents used to describe people who flew the ships. Nitza sighed. She remembered the words but not how a ship flew.

"Only one way to find out. Yes, yes, yes." She jumped on top of the left wings of the ship, her upper body landing on top as her legs swung back and forth behind her. She struggled to get up all the way, hoisting one leg after the other over until she was finally fully on top of the wing. The krykna were a bit spooked at this sudden action, some taking a couple steps back. Crawling on her hands and knees she moved close to the seat where the pilot would sit and looked in. She reached her hand down, feeling the soft cushion of the seat and then the hard surface of the walls and then the glass. "Hmm…" she then looked over to the front where a bunch of colorful circles…. Well… she couldn't remember the names of that either. Whatever it was, it looked complicated.

Nitza suddenly had a crazy idea. She maneuvered around so that went she moved into the seat, her feet would be the first in. But as soon as her foot touched the cushion, something from a rectangular shape on the front began to speak in a gruff voice, "Phoenix 6, report."

"AH!" Nitza screamed as the krykna around began to make a break for it towards their caves. Nitza moved back, standing up and moving away from the seat as quickly as she could. She didn't even realize how far she was going until she no longer felt the metal of the wing below her feet and she fell off onto her back. The voice from inside the ship continued, saying, "Dicer, do you copy?"

Nitza had no idea how that was happening, and she didn't stick around to find out. For some reason, she knew it was a person, and she promised Bendu she would stay far away from them. So she ran. She scrambled to her feet, seeing krykna run away either in the caves or over the hills. She followed the ones over the hills, yelling, "No, no, no, don't leave me behind! Wait for me!" then she ran after them.


	7. Strangers part 4

After discovering the ship, Nitza sat in her hollow that night deep in thought. Bendu had come back to find her, surprised to see her there in the pit before him. She would always take the chance to go out and about, but not tonight. He raised himself upon his hind feet, grabbing onto the coral leaf just outside the girl's hollow for support to see better. "I see you are going to be early today."

Nitza didn't turn around. She was concentrated in staring at the drawings she had carved in the walls of her hollow. "I was just thinking…."

Even though he had taught her that was the best way to make time and collect oneself, that wasn't Nitza's way of doing things. She was more energetic than that. He said a bit surprised, "This must be something important. Tell me, little one."

Nitza crawled out of her hollow and sat on the leaf to look at Bendu. "I was thinking, thinking… thinking…. about the strangers…"

Bendu grumbled, knowing that he should have understood that was the reason for her unusual behavior. Well, he may have stopped her from going near them, but that doesn't mean she can't learn a thing or two about them. "What do you want to know?"

Nitza was surprised. Bendu had been so distant about them, he was ok to talk about it now? Well, he always liked when she learned new things. "They have never come before. No, no, no. But now, here they are. Why is that?"

"We won't know until we confront them."

"But you said we can't. You said."

"And we won't. We will wait until they come near."

"But what if they don't come? What if?"

"They've come close so far. That ship you saw was a sign they are not afraid to explore."

Nitza winced. Whether he saw her go near the ship, or at least saw the ship by himself and figured she had seen it, too, Nitza was caught red-handed. "Ugh… yes."

The Bendu did not get mad but instead said, "I will not stop you from learning about them. I should have known that curiosity of a little one who has seen little, such as you, would want to know what she does not. One should never stop learning, being open-minded. After all, they had come this far. I felt them near and their intentions are clearly not with harm."

"So, we can confront them? Yes? Yes?"

"No. You may get close but watch from afar. Learn from them first. Remember, those who intend to do good can often do bad."

Nitza was puzzled. "You say that about the krykna. You say when they eat they only want to eat, eat, eat. They do not think to harm, no, no. But they do harm anyway. But the people…. They don't look like they eat creatures…. Do they?"

Bendu chuckled. "No, of course not. But like I said, we learn what they do by observing. Then you will understand it."

"Ok—wait!" She stood up, suddenly remembering something else. "I, I remember. Yes, yes I do."

"Remember what?"

"I remember things, with my parents. Mommy and Daddy… I remember them always—"

"You have always remembered them," Bendu corrected her.

"Yes, yes. But now I remember more. I remember the names of ships… and pilots… and… more come. Why?"

"Well, these people hold familiar things that when you come near, you remember. Memories, that's how they come about."

"Oh. So if I go near people, will I remember, where I came from?"

Bendu felt his stomach churn. He didn't know why. This was a simple question. "Ye-yes…" He cleared his throat. "Possibly. But many people come from many places. They might not know exactly where you came from. But they can help. But must you wait—"

"I know, I know. Observe." Nitza stretched her arms out and yawned. Walking back to her hollow and crawling in, she said, "Night, night, Bendu."

Bendu went back down all fours to began making himself ready to sleep. As he curled up, his thoughts wavered back to the ship. He knew that with every day that came the people would start branching out of High Tree. In doing so they would most likely run into Nitza, and if not the other way around. He knew knowledge wasn't something to be held back, that much was true, but it was curiosity that drove one to an unintentional path sometimes.

When he said good people can do bad, he meant it. In Nitza's case, he knew the end result could be most likely disastrous. These people meant to help others, the determination could be felt all aroundAtollon. But being so kind, they could do what they can to help Nitza. Nitza would look like a girl abandoned on this planet and it would be the obvious choice to take her away and care for her. Sure, he could make himself known, let them know Nitza wasn't alone. But even the kindest people can mistake him for a beast and try and protect themselves, hurting him if they had to. But in keeping his presence unknown, they can take Nitza away, and for Bendu…. That was a thought that even he didn't want to meditate on.


	8. Strangers part 5

Nitza walked with a couple of wondering krykna around the forest. She noticed that they were getting close to High Trees and pacing it. She decided to veer away from the krykna, and the creatures watched her curiously. As Nitza went up the hill that led to the High Trees, she noticed something about the clearing where the trees grew. She ducked at the crest of the hill, seeing several of the metal sticks planted in a circle lining the clearing of High Trees. She crawled on her hands and knees to hide behind a clump of coral leaves that grew just on the crest. She looked out into the clearing again, then to High Trees. Nitza gasped. Instead of the bare leaves, the strong thick foliage were now supports to hold up… stuff?

It wasn't the best way to describe the large structures that were built on the leaves, but none of them sparked any memory for Nitza to name them. There were a bunch of box-shaped items piled on the bottom layer of leaves. The highest layer had some ships stationed and the rest, some larger ones, were stationed in the clearing below. Second layer had people walking around metal structures where they sat down or stood by looking at something on colorful flat surfaces. "If only I could remember the names…if only I could…" Nitza muttered.

She looked up again, this time at the people. Much like her parents were, they much older, taller…. Men… women. Though there were more shocking looking people. Some had different colored skin or features on their bodies Nitza could never have imagined someone would have like tails from heads or fur on their bodies. She cocked her head to the side, "Strange, very, very strange." They all wore much more clothing then she did, making Nitza sit on her knees and look at her own clothing. Whereas their clothing fit nice, comfortable, and covered almost their entire body, Nitza saw how hers was so much more ragged, dirty, and short. "Hmmm…."

Suddenly, Nitza heard the cry of a convor overhead and she looked up to see one fly overhead and perch far down the hill behind her to a coral tree. There were to others there as well and they watched as someone came near the bottom of the hill. Rounding the edge was a person, and quickly Nitza went to hide. She staid within the clump of coral leaves so that she wouldn't be spotted by the people on High Trees one side and now this person on the other side. Nitza kept down on her knees and peeked over. This person, a woman, was one of the strange ones. She had dark almost orange skin, and white markings around her face. She had what looked like white and blue striped horns on her head that came down into three tails that hung down just past her shoulders. And unlike most of the people Nitza saw on High Tree, this one wore light clothing. Nothing too heavy. She seemed graceful, even if looking tall contradicted it.

Nitza wasn't the only one interested. The convor's looking down as the person past them from below were ever so intrigued by her, they're gaze on her never wavering. Bendu always said, if the convor's saw something interesting, it was worth a look. Nitza waited until the person had walked past and continued down the forest that Nitza followed her from behind. The girl would stay low and sneak from one clump of leaves to the next trunk of a coral tree. Nitza remained unnoticed, keeping quiet as she could every time she went from one spot to another.

That is until the person suddenly stopped. Nitza stopped, suddenly frightened of the idea that the person would turn around. Almost as if reading her emotions, the person turned her head around. Instantly, Nitza completely hid behind the trunk of the tree, back to it. The girl waited, feet shuffling and thumbs fiddling. She really hoped that waiting a while would get the person to forget about it and keep going. It didn't.

After a few moments, Nitza decided to peek her head out and suddenly she was met with a face. "Hello?" The person said as she stood on the other side of the trunk. Nitza gave a yelp and jumped back, away from the trunk. "No—no—hold on—" the person tried to say, holding her hand out. Nitza ran away as fast as she could. Soon she stopped to hide behind another coral tree. She knew, now having been seen, she had to keep running. Bendu told her not to get caught. But instinct told her to stay, wait, watch. Nitza staid behind the tree, fingers digging into the cracks tensely as she peeked behind the trunk. The person walked slowly towards her saying in a gentle tone, "Hey, hey, it's ok… I'm not going to hurt you."

Nitza didn't know if to be relieved or worried. Was this person telling the truth? Was she lying? What did she want to do with her? Nitza continued to watch the person as they stopped a few ways away from Nitza's position. "You're ok, little one. I just want to know what you're doing here." Nitza didn't know what to do. Should she answer or stay quiet? So many options. She really wished Bendu was here to help her deal with this. The person said, "There are no signs of civilization here, so where do you come from?" Nitza staid quiet, her eyes wide and locked on the person. The person sighed and did something unusual. She sat down, cross-legged, getting eye level with Nitza. "You can come to me. It's ok. I just want to talk."

Feeling a bit more comfortable, Nitza stepped out from behind the trunk letting the person get a good look at her. "Wow, you're young. Are you alone?" The person asked. Nitza stepped back and quickly the person figured she shouldn't ask questions. Just talk. "Don't worry, I won't ask too much. So, I'm new here… if that wasn't obvious?"

Seeing how that was obvious and how confused the person got, Nitza giggled. The person smiled, saying, "I'm glad I got you to laugh." Nitza stopped giggling. "No, no, it's ok, that's a good thing."

Nitza suddenly felt like it was ok to step forward and actually say something to this woman, but she didn't know what to say. All she could do was take one step foreword, hide her hands behind her back, and opened her mouth to say nothing. Nitza struggled with herself. She couldn't break Bendu's promise, but she really wanted to know… who was this person?

"Commander?" someone, male, called out from just over there hill, where the clearing to High Trees was. The person looked in the direction, but Nitza made a sprint for trees that grew deeper into the forest just behind her. She kept running until she was two tree lengths in and then stopped behind a coral tree trunk. As she hid, she heard the man who had been calling out call the person again. "Commander? Ahsoka!"

"Sorry, Rex, I was busy."

The one called Rex said back, "With what?"

Nitza poked her head out again to look. The woman, called Ahsoka, got up on her feet as she stood to face a shorter, bald-headed man with a white facial hair. Nitza noticed this Rex man wore something white and heavy looking all over his body and when he moved in the slightest it would make a light clank sound. Nitza worried the person was going to tell the man about Nitza.

"I went out because I felt something…." When the woman turned her head around, she made eye contact with Nitza. The girl shied a little more behind the tree, but not all the way. She needed to know what this Ahsoka person would say? She really hoped she wouldn't say anything. For the second time, as if she sensed Nitza's emotions, Ahsoka turned back to face Rex and said, "But it turned out it was nothing. I just probably needed to come out here and clear my head. After all, we leave for Malachor in a few moments."

Nitza heard it the person's tone of voice change from lightheartedness, to dread. What was this Malachor, and why was it bad? Rex said, also with a tone of dread, "Right, you've got to prepare. Though, I think it's better to prepare back at the base than out here with those spiders."

Nitza grunted. What was wrong with the krykna? They did nothing wrong. As Ahsoka and Rex went walk back to High Tree, Nitza took the chance to walk back out towards the hill. She watched as the two strangers disappeared over the crest of the hill, and she noticed one of the convor's that had been following Ahsoka earlier continued to follow her to High Tree. Nitza was left wondering. The only other being the convor's ever concerned themselves with was following Bendu. But now this stranger had their attention. There was something special about this Ahsoka.


	9. Strangers part 6

Nitza had gone to the small river after meeting Ahsoka, but instead of playing in the river, she just sat by the bank and stared down into the shallow water. The current was somewhat still, letting Nitza see her reflection. It was the same reflection she had always saw when she played in the river, but today she felt like she was looking at it in a new perspective.

There were many people with faces much like hers. Though different in some ways, she felt for the first time that she wasn't the only one. There were others like her on this planet. And after meeting Ahsoka, she not only felt like them by just looks, but by personality. Ahsoka was calm and collected, much like Bendu. Nitza had seen this before, but Ahsoka brought something new that Nitza had only ever saw in herself. Nitza saw the curious smile Ahsoka had when they met. She wanted to know more, just like Nitza wanted to know more about the people.

"Maybe they are like Ahsoka? Maybe they all wanted to know? I learn more when I confront them, not just observing. Yes, yes, yes. Why does Bendu not want me to go near yet?"

The next night, Nitza was in the Pit playing around with a couple of dokma, Print included. Bendu was just next to her, laying down with his chin rested on his hands.

He smiled when he saw Nitza laugh as she sat down with Print climbing up on her back. "Print stop—ahah—you're tickling me—hahaha!" She reached back and grabbed him, only to laugh again as two other dokma climb up her back and arms. Bendu made no comment. He was just happy to see Nitza was happy again. The days thinking about the people seemed to digress, or at least he thought, until she asked, "Bendu?"

"Yes?"

"We know that the people do not want harm. No, no, no. But what if we know they are also nice? Nice and curious and gentle—"

"Why curious?"

"Well, you told me I can observe and I did."

Bendu's head raised to look down at her with a raised eyebrow. He knew right away she did more than just observe. But she didn't look hurt or feel emotionally warry. In fact, she felt the opposite. She felt tempted and happy. Whatever encounter she had, she came out all right. He said nothing and let Nitza continue. "I saw one, a lady. She looked nice, and sounded kind and curious."

"Are you asking if they are all like that?"

"Are they? Can they, can they?"

"Not all are the same, but this woman sounds good in nature. Yet you must remember to still be cautious. You must not be spotted." He wasn't lying when he said the woman sounded nice, but he wanted to reiterate the promise he and Nitza made. He didn't want her to continue encountering any more people.

"Why not? Maybe just with Ahso—I mean—the women? Just her?"

Bendu felt it easy to come up with the response. He didn't want the encounter to lead to Nitza being taken in their care, for good. But before he could even say anything, he felt something… off-balanced. It was so striking, Bendu stood up on all fours and looked up in the direction of High Trees. Something happened, something was going on there, something darker then there was light. "Bogan…" He whispered.

Nitza heard the word and immediately she stood up and looked around afraid. "Where? Where?" She ran to Bendu, hiding bellow him where his fur draped down from his stomach. Bendu looked down, seeing the fear in her eyes. He had told her about the mysteries of the Force the way he had always known them to be. She understood those who used the light, calm and defensive use of the Force. And there were those who used the dark, a more aggressive but emotional use of the Force. To the Bendu, they were known as the Ashla and the Bogan. There was never anything bad about the Ashla and the Bogan, so long as they were equal, balanced…. Like Bendu. The balance was all that Bendu was. For there to be an off-balance was the real danger.

Nitza, and like many others, understood it differently. People wanted to appreciate the kindness of the Ashla, but the Bogan was a monstrous being to them.

"You're all right," He put his hand down close to her so that she felt protected. "Something off-balance, in the Force." He looked up again. The off-balance wasn't just something he felt now, it was something he felt close. "It's only at High Trees."

"It's coming from the people? But you said they don't mean to be bad."

"Changes, Nitza. Never forget change is possible. Especially now. So it is best to keep away from them. Do you understand?" He said the last part sternly. He did not want Nitza getting near whatever grew in the dark side of the force. It was something he could control, something he didn't have to worry about too much. But Nitza was different, so Bendu wanted her safe. "Do you understand?" he repeated.

"Yes, yes, yes." She said. Nitza didn't want to argue any longer. It's not that he ever got mad at her if she pushed the conversation, but she hated to see him get frustrated and try to hold it back. Besides, he had always been right when it came to the feelings he got, so whatever was going on at High Tree, she shouldn't get involved.


	10. The Pool

Bendu had taken a couple of days to meditate on the unusual spike in the force that he sensed. He found out it wasn't just High Trees. Off-world the Bogen seemed to grow. It was not surprising. He had been alive for many years and always there was an off-balance in the force. Sometimes the Ashla grew too strong, and sometimes it was the same with the Bogen. That was how beings with a sensitivity to the Force always wielded it to be. They could never understand that a balance was necessary. An understanding of both sides.

But that wasn't the problem now. It was the fact that the spike, along with whatever happened off-world, had grown so close as well, here on Atollon. He should have known that even though Force-sensitives were few and far between, a chance of them being here with the people was not at all shocking. But why did the Bogen suddenly grow? And was it a danger to Nitza?

After he had meditated on it, he woke and found Nitza had honestly kept her promise. Whether it was her fear of the unknown or that she trusted Bendu, either way, she found ways to occupy herself.

A month passed and Bendu and Nitza had taken their days to be together far from High Trees. They played together by the river again. Since it was the dry season the river had shrunk down that it was as deep as Nitza's ankles and as long in width as Bendu. The hot sun shining down turned the water warm. Thankfully, years on Atollon taught Bendu and Nitza the tricks.

Nitza laughed running upriver and stopping just before the pool of water where it bubbles up out of air holes in the ground. It was cooler there because the underground rivers were just below it. And it was deep enough for Nitza to fully submerge herself into the water and swim. She opened her eyes, seeing the bubbles that came from the holes below and coming up. She would play around, plugging them with her hand and waiting a little while to pull back. A mass amount of bubble dispersed and Nitza would have to bring her head up over the surface and laugh. Bendu pulled himself out of the shallow river just as he reached the pool. He sat by the bank and used his big hands to dip them into the water. Cupping them, he would bring his hand up, holding water for him to drink.

Bendu would entertain himself as he watched Nitza swim around, play with bubbles, and come up for air. At one point, Nitza came up for air but didn't surface all the way, just up to her nose. She looked at Bendu. Taking the time to look at him, she took in his immense but majestic size. She remembered the first day she met him and giggled, thinking how funny it was to think now she thought of him as a monster all those years ago. Turns out the real monsters were out there, far from Atollon. But now they were here. She sunk a little lower in the water. The idea that the Bogen, or at least those who had the power. But now they were here? She relaxed knowing Bendu would protect her. He's been by her side whenever she felt scared.

But the Bogen had never come until now? Or had it? Nitza had been here almost as far back as she could remember, but maybe it was here before she had come. Nitza swam to the bank

Bendu noticed her come crawling up the shore to sit down in the shallows in front of him. Looking up with curious eyes she said, "Bendu? How long have you been here?"

"I've told you. Many years, more then you can count."

"I can count to 50. Are you fifty years old? Fifty more? Much, much more?

Bendu chuckled, "What brings you to ask such questions?"

"I was thinking of the Bogen. Yes, yes I was. Did you ever meet someone who has the Bogen power."

"Who wields the Bogen, do you mean?"

"Yep, yep, yep."

Bendu got serious again. "Not…. personally."

"What does that mean? What? What?"

"It means I never had to face someone who would use the Bogen on me."

Nitza knew he said the truth, but the way he said it, she felt like it wasn't the entire thing. "Bendu…"

Bendu looked up at the sky, seeing the sun rise high in the sky. "The sun will start scorching soon. We must find shade."

Nitza and Bendu retreated back downriver, Bendu walking on the shallow water as Nitza rode on his shoulder, just bellow his horn which gave her shade as the sun peaked. As they reached the part of the river which got thinner, shallower, and dropped off into the cavern that led to the tunnels below. As they neared, Bendu suddenly felt a presence from above coming close. He quickly darted to the dry bank and then began to lay down to make himself camouflage with other nearby coral leaves. Seeing him suddenly hide, Nitza jumped off Bendu and waited for him to completely hide. Nitza didn't know why he was hiding until she heard the distant sound of ships coming closer. When the Bendu was done Nitza squeeze between a space under his arm and by his side, a leaf-like shell from his elbow hiding her.

The ships came into view, to of the small kinds, and landed on the bank of the river on the other side. Nitza poked her head out to watch two people heavily clothed and wearing helmets and climbed out of the seat. The two jumped out of their ships and went down to the edge of the shore. One bent down to run their fingers over the surface of the water while the other stood, inspected the river, and said something to the others. Nitza wondered what they were doing and the urge to go up and ask was struggling against the need to hide. She didn't know if they meant bad, especially since Bendu said he sensed the Bogen was among them. But they were just looking at the river. An then to make it just more confusing, a couple of dokma came out of their little hiding holes to crawl around the ships. The people began to walk back to their ships and on noticing the dokma they gentle picked them off and set them down on the ground.

Nitza cocked her head to the side in wonder. The ships with their pilots eft the area moment later, a sign for Bendu to unfold himself from his camouflage state. Nitza stepped away to walk on over to the riverbanks and she looked down ta the shallow water. Seeing her reflection, she imagined herself wearing helmets. Were those people like her under their helmets. Were they good? "Bendu, did you ever meet someone who wields Ashla?"

Bendu walked slowly up to the bank and looked down at Nitza, "Much like those who wield the Bogen. Not personally."

"How did you know if they were good?"

"I've told you before. I'm the Bendu, therefore I know the presence of the Force from the brightest to the darkest of wielders for I am the middle."

Nitza had been told this, yes, but she was never able to understand. But she was able to understand that Bendu could tell. "What about me? How do I know someone is good or bad? How do I know if someone is Bogen… or Ashla."

"No one can be Bogen or Ashla, they just understand their power. As for you knowing, well, there is no way to know for sure. But, you can always try instincts."

"You mean the feeling I get in my stomach?"

Bendu laughed, "Yes, that very one."

"So what happens if I feel what the people were doing here was good?"

"Even I think it wasn't threatening, but remember Nitza, instincts can sometimes prove false."


	11. Lightning Strike

The storm season was coming closer as the sun's position in the sky would rise farther and farther from the center of the sky each day. The days would get shorter, making it harder for the sun's harsh rays to keep the clouds from forming into storm clouds. One day the clouds had become so dark and vast, there was almost a sinister green tint to them and the storms brought the first thunderstorms.

Nitza hated this time of the year. She would sleep with Bendu often and not because it got colder in the night, but because the thunder was still something she wasn't used to.

CRACK

"AGH!" Nitza yelled. She ran to Bendu who was laying down underneath her coral tree. She climbed up over his arm to a space tween the crock of his arm and the side of his chin. There the fur grew thick and soft and Nitza took great comfort into laying down on the bed of hair. Bendu smiled reaching over his other arm to the other side to make his hand a sort of shelter over Nitza. He said to the girl who clung to his fur for dear life, "Storms, Nitza are nothing but—"

"Energy in the clouds. In the clouds, in the clouds, you say that to me every storm."

"And energy can't hurt you as long as you stay low."

CRACK!

"AGH!" Nitza yelled, covering her ears and closing her eyes. "Why does it sound like it's closer?"

"It's above us, it'll pass."

Nitza nodded but another crash of thunder accompanied with a flash in the sky made her curl herself into a ball. Bendu felt her immense fear and moved his hand up to completely cover her. "It's all right, Nitza. The storm will pass."

It did, after a couple of hours through the night and into the next day. Nitza and Bendu noticed that once they woke up the land was dry. "Still no rain. No, no, no…." Nitza sighed.

Bend picked her up and placed her on his shoulder. "Hmmm, we must take a look around."

"Ok." Nita wondered why, but she figured something happened during the storm that Bendu felt. Often storms left destruction. Every so often when the rains came they brought mudslides to the dry land. But with no rain, Nitza was concerned on what Bendu felt. They continued on towards a part of the land where the forest grew sparse on flat soil.

"Oh no…" Nitza gasped.

In the middle of the path, a giant coral tree was on its side. Some leaves had broken off when it had fallen, laying in pieces around the tree. At the base of the trunk, scorch marks and splinters were seen near a rooted tree stump also covered in scorches and splinters. "The lightning broke the tree. Oh, no, no, no…"

Bendu walked up to the tree and held his hand out to Nitza. She jumped down to the palm of his hand so that he lowered her to the ground. As she got off, Bendu lumbered over to the tree. He noticed there were holes that covered the ground around the tree. Bendu could guess there were more underneath the tree. He lowered her head, letting the horns get lodged underneath the tree so that when he raised his head, the trunk was raised at an angle. The holes beneath were visible now, and even more so the creatures that were trapped inside. Dokma came scurrying out of their holes for fresh air.

Nitza smiled, seeing the accomplishment of the Bendu in freeing the animals. Nitza decided to do the same. She found some holes that were trapped under some of the leaves that broke off in the fall. They were no bigger then Bendu's hand. She went up to the pile and got on all fours, lowering her head she tried to pick up the leaves as Bendu had done with the tree. She tried twice to no avail, only kicking up dust as her feet skidded on the ground trying to use them for support.

Once Bendu moved the tree to the side so that it didn't block anything, he looked at Nitza. Seeing her get dirty with dust as she struggled to move the leaves with her head made him chuckle. "Having a bit of trouble."

Nitza attempted one last go, this time putting al her strength in her legs before her head managed to pick up the leaves at an angle. She held it up with her hands the rest of the time as she let the dokma run from their trap. "I got it, yes I did!" As the last dokma left, Nitza stepped back and let Bendu use the force to move the leaves aside and next to the tree. Nitza tried to wipe the dust off her but only manage to create another dust cloud before sneezing. "ACHOO!" sniffling she said, "Excuse me."

"Excused," Bendu said as he reached his finger over her head. He tried to lay down the wild hair that had gotten tangled in her little struggle but he only managed to create more dust as it fell out of her hair. Bendu got some of it around his nose, making him sneeze. Nitza was pushed back by the gust of air and the flying mucus that came from Bendu. She fell on her back covered in his mucus and when she sat up she held her arms out to look at her whole body in disgust. "Ew, ew, ew… Bendu…."

Bendu smiled sheepishly. "Sorry…."

Nitza sniffled then said, "Excused." Bendu could only laugh.


	12. Sneaking Around part 1

Nitza finally worked up the courage to go to High Trees. Whoever held the power of the Bogen within High trees had made no move to attack her or Bendu or any of the creatures of Atollon. So she figured it was safe to go. As long as she kept her promise to observe. She wanted to see what Ahsoka had been up to since their last meeting, maybe observe what she does daily at High Trees.

Nitza waited behind a couple of trees that lined the clearing around High Trees. There was a spot near the base of High Trees that many of the bigger ships docked. There, not many people walked around unless they planned to take a ship to fly out. But no one seemed to be up to fly at the moment, so it sat empty. Nitza snuck in. She passed the line of metal sticks that were rooted to the ground and circled the clearing. Then she hid under a ship. Seeing no one around, she ran to the next one and ducked under it too. At one point she ducked behind a medium-sized ship shaped like a diamond, and in seeing no one she continued on.

She made it to the trunk of the tree and found that she would no longer have to use the pivots of the trunk to climb up. There were flat metal planks now built into the trunk. Like how vines would grow, the metal planks encircled around the trunk and went up towards the first level of leaves. Carefully, Nitza put a bare foot on it. It was cold to the touch and she stepped back. She had forgotten how cold stairs could be. "Stairs…." She whispered remembering it from long ago. She then walked slowly up to the top one step at a time.

When she got to the end of the stairs, she saw the first level where people were definitely walking around everywhere. She had to back up a few steps to make sure she wasn't spotted. She then got on all fours and hobbled on over to the first thing she could duck behind: a bunch of metal box-shaped items. She found a space in the center while the boxes surrounded her as cover. Poking her head out from within the pile, she looked around the people. They were the same as they had always been. Heavily clothed from neck to toe, some with some sort of headwear that Nitza couldn't remember the name of.

But none of them were Ahsoka. She looked around. All of them, different kinds of people from men to women, from humans to…. well… she couldn't remember the names of those either. She didn't even know what Ahsoka was. They were all just people to Nitza. She had to wonder what someone with Bogan powers would look like, but none of them seemed like the sort…. At least from far away. She remembered Rex and how he looked and sounded. He did seem scary but Ahsoka wasn't afraid of him.

She didn't notice as her mind wondered that someone was coming close to her pile of boxes until she heard a female voice behind her. "Hey Zeb, do you remember which team these crates are supposed to be handed to?" Nitza ducked, hiding deeper in between the boxes… crates as the female said. She was young, that much Nitza could tell.

An older, gruffer voice responded to the female, "Nah. AP-5 probably has it cataloged."

"And no one thought to update it on everyone's datapad? What are we supposed to do, guess?"

The sound of footsteps was then heard and Nitza figured out they were walking away as they faded farther and farther. Nitza poked her head out see who had almost spotted her. The female turned out to be a girl but very much older then Nitza… making her a woman? Nitza couldn't remember exactly. The women wore heavy clothing kind of like Rex but it looked like it was painted by a rainbow, at least in Nitza's perspective. Even the women's short hair was colorful with white and pink. Next to her was just as surprising to Nitza as the colorful girl. A very tall person, the one the women had called Zeb, had purple striped fur all around him. His face was flat and he had big green eyes and pointy ears. Zeb walked hunched over but his flat and big toed feet gave him support. He did wear heavy clothing but it didn't cover him as much as the rest of the people around him.

Nitza wasn't afraid, just amazed. But that's because they weren't close to her. What would she do if she was caught? Feeling like her luck had been pressed so close, she waited until the two people were far from her crates and she began to crawl back towards the tree trunk. She made sure no one was walking up or down the stairs before she herself went down. She made it to the ground and ran quickly to the nearest ship. As she ducked under she looked out to make sure that no one had come near. She figured she could run without being spotted the whole way to the edge of the clearing and back into the forest. So she did. She went without stopping but as she ran around the diamond shape ship, Nitza went into a skidding halt and then ducked behind the ship.

Peaking around, she saw a man sitting down cross-legged and just staring out towards the forest. At least that's what Nitza saw because this man's back was to her. Nitza needed to get back to the forest but somehow without this man seeing her. Nitza went to the other side of the diamond ship and then went on all fours to hobble over to the next smaller ship. Ducking behind, she only peered over to see if the man saw her. "Huh…"

The man had a green mask that covered his face from the ridge of his nose to the top of his forehead. Nitza cocked her head. She wondered how he was able to see through that. Taking advantage of the situation, she walked out from behind the ship and then tip-toed towards the edge of the clearing. Just because he couldn't see didn't mean he couldn't hear. That's what Bendu always said about the creatures ofAtollon when it was dark out. She made it all the way to the row of metal sticks in the ground without making a sound. Then she made a break for the forest.


	13. Sneaking Around part 2

Every day that Nitza went to visit the people's establishment at High Trees, the more she explored around their place.

One day she staid around the first level of trees where all the crates were stashed. She wanted to see the kinds of people that were around. She finally got to see more in detail. Some were like her. Others were like Ahsoka and Zeb, all different. They had either horns or tails growing out of there heads. Some had markings around their skin or their skin was just all kinds of colors. It was amazing how there were all kinds of people that were out there living among each other. She had spotted Zeb and the colorful clothing women a couple of times, and even once spotted Rex….

But she couldn't find Ahsoka though. There had been no sign of her. What had happened to her? Did she suddenly get so busy? Did she leave? Was she at this Malachor she had spoken of?

Another day she went one level higher and found the smaller ships all around. They were much like the ship she found out near a krykna nest. This time their pilots were around. She hid bellow ships while she watched pilots walk around and sit near their ships. The people were either in their seats checking the weird circles that control their ship or cleaning the wings or the transparent surfaces.

Again, no sign of Ahsoka, but there was someone Nitza was interested in who was walking around she had seen a lot. A woman, one with green skin who had two head tails with markings on them. She wore the same material of clothing as the pilots did, but different headwear than most. Nitza notice that when she talked to many, she was stern but certain in her words. It looked like she was some sort of leader, for whatever she said the people trusted her and did so.

On another day she found the women on the third level of High Trees. It was the leaf where the random structures were created. On closer look, the structures had the same weird circles and thingamajigs that the ships had to control them. The structures were sometimes circular and horizontal, or square and upright. People like the green woman would look at drawings or images of some sort. It was confusing, but yet so familiar.

As she explored and went higher and higher up High Trees to see the doings of the people, she remembered. She remembered the names of the parts of the ships like "landing gear" and "controls". She remembered that the structures could have different functions such as be for communications or create "Holograms".

One day, though, she got close enough to hear full conversations and close enough to hear two words that would constantly stay on her mind no matter how close or far away she was from High Trees.

Rebellion.

Nitza heard this and at first felt confusion. That's what they called themselves, a Rebellion. It sounded good, especially when she heard it in sentences like "helping the starving people" of some planet or hearing them say, "fighting back against" some tyranny of some kind. But even though they made it sound good, the word it was followed with made her question everything, even herself.

Empire.

This Empire sounded mean. What they did seemed cruel to the people that lived in other worlds and that this Rebellion was trying to stop their cruelness. But the word Empire brought back a nagging feeling in the back of her head. It was like a memory was trying to push its way through, being blocked by everything else. There was one thing, one phrase though that stuck out.

"This is for the future if the Empire."

Nitza couldn't remember who said it in her past. Was it her parents? Was it someone else? Why could she not remember anything but that phrase? Was it because it had been drilled into her head when she was young, hearing it over and over until it became something she couldn't ever forget?

What was this Empire? Why had her past made it sound good when these good people, right here and now, make it sound bad?


	14. Sneaking Around part 3

Though she was small and Bendu had taught her how to camouflage the best she can, it wasn't enough.

It had been a month since she started sneaking around High Trees. Nitza was on the first level of leaves where the crates were. She hid behind a tower of crates when she spotted something. A man…. Or a boy? Again she was having trouble figuring that out but she guessed boy considering he looked younger the colorful clothing woman. Even so, it was how young he was that made Nitza curious. He was the youngest she had seen since she had started sneaking around. He wore dark long bottom and an orange long sleeve top. His hair was cut really short, and since he wore no headgear like most she could see his bright blue eyes.

He was with one of the metal creatures that she had seen rolling around. She overheard the people call them droids and they were all shapes and sizes. She once saw one that walked on two legs like a person. The one with this boy was like most she had seen: short and round. But instead of a bumpy top and little color, this droid had a flat top painted orange. It made sounds that had Nitza trying hard not to laugh.

The boy and the droid were near a set of crates, their back towards Nitza's hiding place. As he looked down at a strange device in his hands, he pressed something on the flat surface of the device. He said to the droid. "No Chopper, I'm sure these crates come with us. We're taking the supplies to Kitwat and his family."

The droid, with a name of its own, made another series of sounds to which the boy said, "You don't even eat food, why are you so clingy to them?" Chopper responded. Nitza smiled, enjoying the sight before her.

Then the boy stopped looking at the device in his hands and stared blankly at the crates before him. "That's the fifth time…." He muttered. The droid made more sounds and the boy said to him. "I've been getting this feeling for a while… I just thought it was a side effect to opening the…." He didn't finish. Nitza's interest peaked. What does the boy mean? Chopper made a gurgling sound and the boy said, "Stop it you wouldn't know what—"

The boy suddenly turned around, holding his hand up and fingers curling. Suddenly the tower of crates that hid Nitza' toppled to the floor, making the girl jump out of the way to avoid getting crushed. She then realized what she had done. In moving away she exposed herself. Embarrassed knowing she had broken again Bendu's rule, she sat up on her knees and looked towards the boy. At first, his eyes were filled with anger and determination. It scared Nitza and she scooted back. The boy calmed down, his anger turning to confusion as if he wasn't expecting someone like Nitza, or just anyone behind the crates. But that got the girl thinking. How did he know she was there? How had his arm motion caused the crates to fall? Then she put it all together.

That's what Bendu does when he used the Force. And if this boy did the same…

And since Bendu said the source of the dark side came from High Trees….

"Bogen…." Nitza whispered fearfully.

The boy said calmly, "What the—hey—what are you doing-?" He never finished. Nitza was on her feet and running. Without caring that she will be spotted now that she was exposed, she ran without looking back. People all around gasped or yelled in surprise in seeing Nitza run by with the boy and Chopper right behind her. "Hey! Wait!" He called out. At one point, she noticed she had passed the colorful clothing women. The women had to double-take to understand that this little girl was amongst them. She quickly joined the chase with the boy. Nitza went down the stairs that wrapped around the trunk of High Trees. As she was halfway down she saw someone coming halfway up. It was the big purple one, Zeb.

From behind her, Nitza heard the women say, "Zeb! Grab her!"

Zeb blinked several times seeing Nitza but quickly tried to compose himself to focus on catching her. She was quicker. She ducked under him and then continued down the stairs. Zeb was now in the chase. As she got to the ground and started to run towards the edge of the clearing where the metal sticks were lined up, she had to pass a couple of ships along the way. One of them was the diamond-shaped one. From the opening in the front, someone was just coming down. The green skin women with head tails watched utterly surprised as Nitza ran by the ship. She yelled towards the pursuers running by, "What—who is that?"

They didn't answer, they just continued going after Nitza. She looked back only once, seeing all of them were now after her. But since they were all still far enough behind her, that wasn't what made her regret looking back. It's when all of them suddenly look collectively worried. The green woman yelled, "Kanan, look out!"

Nitza only had enough time to turn her head back forward to see dark green before she collided with whoever it was. She and the person gave a load "UMPH!" as they fell and tumbled together in a heap before they both came to a stop on the ground just next to each other. The collision temporarily made Nitza dizzy and she sat up on her knees to look around. She gasped when she saw who she had collided and fallen next to. It was the man with the mask, the one who sat around every other day that Nitza would have to sneak past. This was the first time she had seen him do something other than sit around.

He sat up with a groan which made Nitza feel guilty and scoot up to him. She stood up quickly and reached both her arms around his right arm so that she could use all her strength to help him up. She felt his body tense in surprise but he did not reject the help he got. As soon as he was on his feet, Nitza heard the boy yell, "Kanan!"

Nitza looked up and saw that the pursuers were dangerously close to catching up. Nitza let go of the man and ran for the edge of the clearing. She did not stop. Even when one of them, Zeb, yelled, "Kid! Don't go out there!" She didn't listen.

The green-skinned one yelled out, "It's dangerous!" Nitza didn't look back. She ran past the line of metal sticks and into the thick of the coral forest.

Nitza continued running, never stopping. She felt she wouldn't be safe until she was at the Pit. She had been running for so long, she felt the need to stop and rest. But she didn't when she heard an odd sound. It sounded like a machine the people used. Nitza didn't know what or didn't care. She just needed to run faster now that the sound got closer. As she turned a corner she found herself almost about to run into a giant mound of coral leaves with fur. Looking up, she saw it was Bendu. "Nitza? What happened?" He asked.

"I-I- I didn't mean to—"

The sound of the machines got closer and quickly Bendu scooped Nitza up in his hands. Curling up to camouflage himself, Bendu kept hidden Nitza with him. She hid by curling up in his fur like she always did when there were storms. Bendu only poked his head up just a bit to see the source of the machine sound. Two people, a young woman with painted Mandalorian armor and a Lasat came in and stopped behind Bendu. They had ridden in on small hovering vehicles that looked to only seat one. They each had their own as the surveyed the area. The Lasat said, "I don't see her… that girl moves fast."

The Mandalorian then said, "And the ground is too hard to leave any tracks. We completely lost her."

"We still have to look. Don't want those spiders getting to her."

"Yeah…"

"What?"

"Nothing, let's keep looking." They revved-up their transports and continued forward leaving Bendu and Nitza behind.

When they were out of sight, Bendu unfolded himself and held Nitza cupped in his hands. He looked down to see she had been crying. "Nitza, what is wrong?"

"I-I'm so sorry Bendu, I didn't listen to what you said. I went too close to them. I got caught. I'm sorry Bendu!" She then began to cry harder, her head hiding behind her hands in shame as her shoulders shook with every chokes sob.

Seeing her distraught, full of fear, and not repeating her words, Bendu knew how serious this had affected her. He pulled his hands close to his chest so that the girl could take comfort in grabbing locks of hair as a way to embrace him, to find solace in being close to him. That was all Bendu could do. Nature wasn't always a comfort, but Nitza always found comfort in him anyway.


	15. Foraging

Bendu and Nitza went out one day together deep into the forest. There, a large cluster of small coral trees grew together, making the area cool in temperature even more so than High Trees. It grew over a part of the land where instead of hard earth, it was soft with dirt. The water running bellow this part of the ground soaked into the soft dirt. It helped the coral trees produce food.

Whereas the little dokma ate nutrient that grew in the hard earth and the dokma were eaten by krykna, Nitza and Bendu had to eat something themselves. Nitza grabbed a rock and went to stand on one of the leaves. Kneeling next to a leaf pore, Nitza cracked it open with the rock, revealing inside the pores were bright, yellow seeds the size of her palm. They grew like berries in a bunch, making it soft to chew and an easy fill for Nitza. She looked down at Bendu as he cracked open a pore with his hands and ate the seeds. She always wondered how something so small could fill someone as big as him. Bendu always assured her that he really never had to eat anyway. He was self-sustainable. Nitza never understood, but she accepted it.

Bendu looked up at Nitza on the leaf as she continued to crack one pore open after another. He gave a half-hearted smile. She had been staying close to Bendu's side since getting caught spying on the strangers. Bendu had thought to lecture her, but he knew that being caught was a lecture of its own. It was her curiosity that she was innately born with hat got her into that mess. It was the will of the Force that she got caught. So now that Nitza was by his side time and time again, Bendu wondered when she would ever be herself. He wouldn't push it, though. This was something she had to learn on her own.

Especially since the strangers hadn't stopped looking for her. It was hard now to come out of the Pit for food and water with the strangers riding around in their vehicles. Nitza would hide with Bendu as he curled himself, waiting for the strangers to pass before moving on. No words would be exchanged. So that's what got Bendu to wonder. The chase alone couldn't possibly be the reason Nitza was scared. She had seen something else. But what?

That day after gathering eating, Nitza rode on Bendu's left horn with a bunch of seed sin hand to store for after. They were heading to the Pit when they heard in the distance the sound of the vehicles. Nitza gasped as Bendu froze. They didn't hide considering the sound was far away, but still, "Bendu…"

"It's all right. Let them pass."

And it did. When the sound faded away, Bendu continued to walk. Nitza finally said, "You won't let them find me, will you?"

Bendu opened his mouth wanting to say he would never let them. But that was instinct. Bendu was more honest than that. He had to be. That was what Bendu was. "Remember, Nitza. You can't ask me questions that can alter paths."

There was a slight hint of growing anger in his voice. Nitza knew what she had done. "I know, I know…" Bendu had once told her that the Force was not something that can choose. It just is the way it is. Nitza never understood. The best Bendu could explain to her was that he was the middle, and the middle can't pick one or the other. He just let things be the way they are. That's why Bendu taught her how to get around Atollon so that she could make decisions for herself and not have Bendu get involved.

Bendu continued, "Perhaps it is the will of the Force for them to find you. And perhaps not." Bendu suddenly sensed her growing fear and he sighed. He had to say something to get her to calm down. This was Nitza after all, the same girl that made him do something years ago that he still didn't know today the effects it could have on him in the future. Shaking away the thought, he said, "I will do what I can Nitza, as long as the Force wills it."

Nitza, feeling a little more assured then she was before, said happily, "Thanks Bendu."


	16. Searching for Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick Note:
> 
> There will be changes in POV starting from here, but they will be between certain groups of characters not just individuals.
> 
> The page break looking something like this: ))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron ((((((((((

"…And the last of their scouts should be pulling back by then," Hera said to Jun Sato

Most of Chopper Base had come together to go over missions assigned to certain groups. Commander Sato had led the briefing. Now that it had finished, he said, "Very Well. Everyone is dismissed."

All nodded and began to go their separate ways. That is until Commander Sato said, "Captain Syndulla, a private word with you and your team, please?"

Hera nodded. She, Sabine, Zeb, Ezra, and Chopper waited around the briefing table until everyone was gone. Then Sato began, "Any luck finding the girl?"

Hera shook her head slowly. Sabine said, "We've been here for four months and she managed to stay unnoticed. It's no surprise we can't find her now."

"But you keep saying that like she lives here," Zeb stated. "There's no way. No one lived here before us. She must have snuck onboard a ship during one of our ops and came here."

Sato said, "None of our missions thus far have been with direct contact on aiding relief, so a civilian would not have been able to come aboard. All operations have been to stop Imperial operations, and I don't think a child would be associated with them at this age."

Ezra closed eyes, picture the girl again. But soon, he pictures himself back before he met the Ghost crew when he was on the streets. Ezra added, "Her clothes were worn out and outgrown. I know a couple of days, even four months, isn't enough for that to happen. I think she does live here."

"I hope that's true," Hera said, with a slightly distant tone. Everyone looked at her surprised. Why would Hera wish the idea of a girl living alone on the planet? Then Hera said, "If she didn't live here then she wouldn't know how to survive being alone out there with no food, fresh water, and safety from those spiders. If she has the know-how for living alone for so long, then that would explain how she's still alive." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"But how long?" Zeb asked. "She looks no older than like nine."

Sabine added, "And at that age, someone would still have to teach her how to get around."

"But no one else was with her," Ezra said.

"At least when we saw her. There could be someone else out there."

Now they were at a block in their conversation. How would they continue? The silence was deafening, so Sato knew to end it right there. "Continue your search then, report to me of you find anything."

All of a sudden, it got darker. Everyone by the briefing table looked up at the sky. Clouds were coming in from the east, slowly blocking the light of the planet's sun. Sabine said, "It's darker than last time. It might bring some rain for once."

Hera said to Zeb and Ezra, "Take another look to find her. Once you hear thunder I want you back here, though."

)))))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((((((

Nitza sat on her leaf just outside her hollow. She had the cover of the leaf above her as a slight drizzle of rain poured down from the dark clouds that covered the whole sky. She looked up watching as what little light that went through the spaces between the clouds hit the falling water. It made it look like falling, glittering lights. Nitza laughed and looked down.

Bendu was just under her leaf, taking shelter from the drizzle. Nitza may have been enjoying the rain, but looking at how dark the cloud had gotten since it passed the last time made him nervous.

Bendu knew a lot about Storms... for reason that even someone like Nitza could never understand… but Bendu knew. After all, he was a force of nature and can become one.

It should have been pouring heavily, but it only let a drizzle fall. That meant it was holding back a lot more rain. The more rain it held back, the more it will pour when it finally lets go. Usually, the storm season brought steady rainfall and that was good for the hard, dry land that can barely soak up water from above. So when it came to heavy storms…. Floods were a potential danger. It disrupted the peace of the land that Bendu worked so hard to maintain. But then again it was nature, he just had to let it go…

A crack of thunder was heard and Nitza above yelled. Shaking his head but keeping a smile, Bendu reached up towards her leaf so that the girl could jump into his palms. He then curled up and held her close to his fur so that she would lay and feel comfortable as the light storm passed. Nitza asked, "Bendu, how come you aren't afraid of storms?"

"I tell you all the time. It's energy."

"How do you know that? How? How?" Nitza asked.

Bendu's moth gapped open but no response came out. Nitza was starting to get smarter. It meant she was beginning to understand but was it really time to tell her? A crack of thunder was heard, making Nitza forget her question and sink lower into Bendu's fur. Bendu sighed in relief, but he knew it was wrong to keep back his secret for long.

)))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron (((((((((((

Hera was in the Ghost cockpit sitting in the pilot seat when she heard someone slowly coming up the ladder. She looked back to see Kanan walk into the cockpit and stopped at the door. He said, "Any sign of the girl?"

"No, not a trace."

Hearing the worry in her voice, Kana replied. "She'll be fine out there. She's strong… strong enough to knock me down." Kanan added the last part with a little bit of lightheartedness. Hera didn't know if he was trying to make her feel better, or was blaming the fact the girl managed to knock him down because he lose of sight prevented him from being prepared.

Kanan said no more as he retreated to his room. The rain had forced him inside, but he hadn't been done meditating yet… like he would stop… what else could he do…

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Bendu had waited until Nitza had slept so that he could reach down, picked the girl up gently, and lay her inside her hollow gently. That's when Bendu felt it. He looked in the direction of High Trees.

Besides the growing power of the Bogen, he had also been feeling something else. The Force was scattered, a mess, somewhere in High Trees as well. Someone was lost. Bendu couldn't tell what, and at this point, he wasn't interested. The Bogan was one thing. It was a threat, but only when tampered with too much. Leaving the dark side alone meant peace for the light side, and then all would be in balance. But this person, this lost being was unintentionally picking at Bendu like pulling him in the back of the head. Like a headache. The sound of thunder was heard somewhere in the distance shaking Bendu finally away from the feeling.

Bendu didn't want to, but he would have to think of this later.


	17. Rising Storm

Bendu and Nitza had gone out to the river pool again. The day was hot and Nitza was enjoying her swim in the shallow. Instead of watching her though, Bendu was resting his head on his hands. He looked off into the distance. Nitza came up the surface at one point to stand up and look at him. She got nervous just seeing him look on.

She called out, "Bendu!"

He blinked and raised his head to look down at her. "Yes, Nitza?"

She trudged up to him and said, "You've been acting strange. Very, very strange."

"How so?"

"You are quiet. A lot, too much. Almost no words."

"Barely a word," Bendu corrected.

"Are you ok?"

"I am fine."

"Then why are you quiet?"

"I am thinking."

"Oh… about what? What? What?"

"I've been feeling something."

"What is it?"

"Someone…. At High Trees."

Nitza gasped. "B-Bogan?"

"No. Someone lost."

"Lost? Is there someone out her lost? Can we help them? Can we? Can we?"

"Not we… me. I would have to meditate on this but…" Bendu faltered. He didn't want to say that he didn't want to help. The lost person had to figure things out themselves, and let it go on its own as Bendu does. But apparently, the Force had a way of its own when it came to such chances. The chances of a lost being on the same planet as Bendu, a balance in the force. Nitza wouldn't understand, so he came up with the best excuse, "The storm will come again, and this time it will not hold back."

"Great water, Bendu?"

"Yes, Nitza, a possible flood. I do not think it will be wise to meditate during such time."

Nitza felt that he was doubting his own abilities, so she tried to cheer him up. "But you always wake up when trouble comes. Always, always. Yep, yep, yep. If you need to sleep a long time, you can do it. If a flood comes, you will wake up."

"Possible yes."

Though Nitza never liked it when he slept too long, she felt happy she gave him a boost of confidence.

When they had gone to The Pit, Bendu made a place to rest at the edge where the ground rose high. If there was a possible flood in the area, Bendu would be safe on the high rise. Not that it wouldn't matter to him, but to Nitza it assured her his safety. Now he had to assure hers. "Remember, stay on high ground."

"And if I get swept away, I will make sure to keep my head up and swim with the current." Nitza finished the little mantra. It was something Bendu had taught her many times.

"Very good," Bendu said. As Nitza walked to her tree where her hollow was, Bendu began to curl up completely, but in doing so he felt a slight twinge of uncertainty. Would Nitza be safe? Bendu grumbled and told himself that he was the Bendu and he taught her, so she would be. And if the Force willed it….

Bendu sighed, never feeling so somber as he went into meditation. This confusion was becoming overrated.

A few days went by and the storm clouds approached over the horizon. Remembering what Bendu had taught her, Nitza had seen the signs, so she went to work. Yes, Bendu had always said animals have instincts of survival and if they weren't prepared and they perished, it was just the way things were. Nitza never liked the idea, but she would always agree with BEndu in the end in helping those creatures who survived the storms. If they survived, they deserved Nitza and Bendu's help.

Nitza helped dokma find places to hide that were not near flood potential area. She didn't have to worry about the krykna, they knew what to do. The convors sheltered in their nests in the tallest coral trees they could find. As Nitza began to walk to the Pit, she looked back in the direction of High Trees. She wondered if she should go over and warn the people. They were near a flood area. Would they be prepared?

Print came out of nowhere and scuttled towards Nitza's feet. The girl bent down to pick him and she looked at him in the eye. Nitza scuffed, "They live on the tallest trees, the tallest of them all. They'll be fine, right?" Print made tiny grunts, waving his little legs around. Nitza said, "Ok, let's go. Go, go, go…."

))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron (((((((((((((

Everyone rushed around Chopper Base, moving stuff around and covering spaces with a tarp to keep the rain from falling and damaging anything.

Hera walked over to the control station and saw people working to put the tarp over the area. She noticed a group of engineers talking amongst each other. Then Hera came in and asked, "What's wrong?"

One of them, Housen, said, "Trac is complaining that one of the monitor's signal had cut off."

"It's not just any one of them," Trac complained. He waved his arms around to exaggerate as he continued, "It's the one that supposed to keep track of the seismic activity. Literally, it's just a walk from here."

"So what's stopping you?"

"Housen lazy and saying we can worry about it later. She just doesn't want to come with me."

Housen crossed her arms and said, "Not true."

Hera rolled her eyes and said, "Ok, then if it's not true then what's the problem in going." Housen was going to say something but no words came out of her open mouth. Trac and the other engineers laughed as Hera walked away saying exasperated, "Honestly…."

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The rain had come but it began as a drizzle. Nitza was sitting in the hollow looking out as the rain fell. She had felt hungry a little while ago, but she didn't know if it was a smart idea to go out now. Bendu had warned her of a potential flood and living here most of her life she had seen a couple already. They brought destruction.

But right now it was just a drizzle. She could go gather some fruit. She was worried though about the distance. The fruit coral tree cluster that she and Bendu always go to was too far. By the time she got there, the rain would be pouring and the flooding would begin. The closest one was down near High Trees. She would be back to the Pit in time if she went there and back quickly. Nitza looked at Bendu curled up on a hill. He was too deep in sleep to know what she was about to do, so she went.


	18. Great Flood part 1

Housen and Trac were with the broken transponder. It was rooted in the middle of a dry river run. The walls around them were high as the trench they were in was deep. It made it hard for Housen and Trac to try and fix it because the drizzle had started to turn to heavy rain and the trench began to fill up. It was only up to their ankles, but Housen still complained. "I can't believe we came out in the rain for this."

Trac was kneeled down next to the transponder with the control device in hand. He didn't look back as he pressed a few buttons and said, "If you stop whining we'll finish faster and you can go back to being your lazy self."

A loud rumble was soon heard, and Housen looked up. "What was that?"

"Thunder probably."

Suddenly the ground began to shake. Trac stood up straight and looked with Housen to where she was looking upriver. She said frightened, "Thunder doesn't cause earthquakes…"

Around the river bend, a giant wave suddenly came rushing towards them.

**)))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((((**

Nitza was collecting fruit seeds on a leaf when the first of the thunder began. Nitza would curl up every time out of fear when they hit, but her hunger kept her from leaving just yet.

It was the rain coming down harder that got her to leave. Knowing a flood would soon follow, Nitza just took three fruit seeds in hands and climbed down the tree. She was going to run to the Pit, but she stopped when she felt the ground shake and heard a loud scream. Nitza looked back, seeing the source came from the dry river run near High Trees. Nitza knew that the rain would have filled up the river by now, no longer making it dry and now turning it to a river rapid. That's how Nitza figured that something terrible must have happened. River rapids were dangerous. Someone must have fallen in.

Nitza, on instinct, dropped her food and ran towards the source.

**)))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron ((((((((((((((**

Chopper Base had been quiet with the occasional clap of thunder overhead. But as soon as the rain started to pour harder, the sound of the heavy fall on the tarp made the sound continuous and annoying. Barely anyone in the control station was able to hear each other.

Sabine had her hands over her ears as she said to Zeb next to here, "You with the super hearing have no problem with this?"

"I'm used to it," Zeb had to yell for her to hear.

Ezra came walking in with his hands over his ears and said, "We're going to have to find some way to keep back the rain without the tarp."

Two engineers came walking by chatting with each other. Ezra sensed their nervousness and called on them, "Hey!" They stopped and looked at him, "Everything ok?"

The two looked at each other then said, "Two of our people went out a while ago to fix a broken transponder. They're still out there."

"In this weather, they didn't think to come back?" Zeb commented.

Suddenly, a certain red light on every control panel started to flash. Everyone was on high alert. Ezra asked, "What is that? Who infiltrated? Empire?"

One of the engineers rushed to one of the control panels with a holoscreen. The other followed behind answering Ezra, "No, that's just supposed to alert us of anomalies. But it should be yellow first, then red."

Seeing the situation was dire, Ezra, Sabine, and Zeb followed and went up to the screen to see the engineers pull up a graph. "It's like an earthquake but that doesn't make any sense. See the line…" The engineer traced the graph as it surged up. "Earthquakes grow from a fixed position, the epicenter. Here, the epicenter continuous to move."

"Move?" Sabine asked.

"So it's not an earthquake," Ezra stated.

Suddenly the ground began to shake and everyone around froze and looked around. Then the sound of rushing water was heard. Everyone moved away from the control station and towards the edge of the leaf they were one. It gave view to the land all the way to the horizon. Just less then half a mile away from the trees where Chopper base was set, there was a dry riverbed… or at least it was dry and now it was growing with water. Upriver a huge wave was suddenly coming by the base. It was so fast and quick, it went by and already started going downriver. The wave was wide enough to knock down the small trees and leaflets that grew at the edge of the river. "A flood…" Sabine said.

A loud scream was heard downriver. The engineers gasped, "Housen and Trac, they're down there!"

**)))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((((**

Nitza went up the hill and looked to the other side into the trench of the river run. Just as she had feared, the dry river run was now a mess of rapid currents and she spotted someone in it. It was a woman in odd headgear that didn't cover her face, which made it easier for Nitza to see the fear on her face as she was being taken downriver. Nitza heard upriver, "Housen!" And looked in the direction. A man with the same headgear had managed to cling to the edge of the river to keep from being swept away. But seeing the woman, Housen, being taken, he was more worried than relieved.

Knowing that the man was safe, Nitza ran downriver to try and catch up to Housen. Using the speed she would use when playing tag with the krykna, Nitza ran quickly along the edge of the river. She kept up the best she can with the women. She saw Housen was swimming against eth current, making water splash over her almost forcing her under. Knowing that wouldn't work and wanting to help, Nitza yelled, "With the current, with it, with it! Head up! Head Up!"

Amazed someone called out, Housen looked around, trying to find the source. She saw Nitza running along the river's edge. But before the woman could respond, a small wave of water came and swept her underneath. "No! No!" Nitza whispered. "Head up, head up…" Nitza tried to pick up her speed actually getting in line with Housen. Up ahead Nitza saw a leaflet that had grown in the middle of the trench. It actually been able to stay rooted and not get swept away by the river. She then looked back at Housen who was now having trouble keeping herself above water and still trying to swim against the current. This went on, Nitza looking back between the women and the leaflet.

Nitza would have to make a decision, something she thought was crazy. There was no way she could do it. She wasn't strong or big like Bendu. And even Bendu wouldn't agree to it. She had to let things run their course.

But Housen submerging underwater and not coming up for a while made the decision for Nitza. After all, Nitza had helped the creature prepare for the storm earlier, she had already gone and done something against Bendu. That and many other things. What's one more?

Nitza picked up speed, going past Housen as much as she could until she jumped into the water.

**)))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron ((((((((((((((**

Zeb drove a land speeder towards the river where the scream had been heard. Ezra was next to him as Sabine sat with one of the engineers. They stopped just at the top of the trench and jumped off. Looking down, they saw Tac struggling to try and climb out of the water as he clung to the edge. The water didn't help as he slipped every so often. The group went down, Ezra and the engineer cautious walking down the slope to the water's edge before grabbing Tac by the shoulders. They pulled him out and helped him to the top of the slope and safe from the water.

Out of exhaustion, Tac fell to his knees and hands. His friend asked Tac, "Tac you ok?"

"Housen…" he said tired but worried. "She's in the river!"

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It was cold, that much was all Nitza could think about, but the rain that was soaking her earlier prepared her enough to focus in the freezing rover. Her thoughts kept one mantra going. Head up, and with the current. Nitza swam up and soon she broke the surface. Coughing out water, she began to swim with the current. It took her to the leaflet and she let the water push her into the wall so that she wouldn't get swept downriver any farther. She was fine, but Housen was the problem. Seeing Housen start getting closer, Nitza reached out and grabbed her by the arm.

Housen almost slipped but she and Nitza managed to lock hands. The sudden pull almost pushed Nitza away from the leaflet. She grabbed the edge of the leaflet to keep herself and Housen from getting pulled.

Housen saw it was her and said in utter bewilderment, "You're the girl—wait? Did YOU JUMP IN AFTER ME?"

Nitza nodded and then grunted as she felt the force of the river threatening to pull her and Housen apart. All Nitza could say was, "Head up, and with the current."

"What?"

Nitza let go of the leaflet.

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The engineer was left behind with Tac to help him get back to Chopper Base. They were to make contact with the base and tell them to prep the med bay in case of an emergency. Meanwhile, Sabine, Zeb, and Ezra were in the speeder heading downriver and seeing if they could catch up with Housen. Feeling like they had gone far enough, Zeb parked the speeder up on top of the trench to look down into the river. The three got off and went down the slope to get a better look around the river. "She could be anywhere," Zeb said.

Ezra began, "We just have to look—"

"There!" Sabine pointed a little way downriver to where there was a leaflet poking out in the middle of the river.

They did find Housen…. And someone else.


	19. Great Flood part 2

Nitza and Housen struggled to keep their heads up, which was easy for Housen to understand.

But… "How is swimming with the current going to help?" Housen yelled, both annoyed but afraid.

"To shore!" Nitza took Housen's arm and pulled her in that direction. Without the struggle of going against the current, swimming to shore was easy. The problem was the energy draining from them as they tried to keep their heads above water. They managed to get to shore but the slope was so steep and slippery it was hard to climb out. And that wasn't the only problem.

"Watch out!"

Nitza looked up to see who had called. She saw the boy, Zeb, and the colorful woman. They were farther up on higher ground and looking at her and Housen. They had fear in their eyes. The boy, yelled, "The water!" and he pointed upriver. Nitza and Housen looked and gasped, seeing a huge wave of water was coming towards them so fast, Nitza barely had time to think for herself.

She went behind Housen and pushed her from her back as hard as she could. Housen managed to get up higher then she had before on the hill but was slipping. Thankfully by then, the colorful women and the boy had come down the hill in time to help her by grabbing her by the hands. As they helped her up, Zeb came to the other side and lent his hand down towards Nitza. "Grab on! Quick!"

Nitza hesitated, wondering whether to trust Zeb or not. Her hesitation was her biggest mistake. The wave came so fast, Nitza panicked as the force of the flood took her away from the edge and forced her under. The torrent of water bellow made her spin and she almost let go of her held breath. Nitza managed to swim back up and get fresh air. She coughed out water but was met with more as the rapids got bigger as the water took her farther downriver. In fear for her life, she could only think of one thing. "Bendu! Bendu help me!"

 **))))))))))))** Atollonians **(((((((((((((**

Bendu's eyes flashed open and he sat up. His meditation was disrupted, a little bit to his relief but he knew he would have to get back to it later. Right now, he had heard Nitza call him. He lumbered over to the tree, splashing water around the pit that had collected like a giant pond. He stopped outside Nitza's hollow… empty. He looked around the pond, not seeing her. "Nitza?"

CRACK

Bendu looked in the direction of the lightning. Nature had told him where to go.

**))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron ((((((((((((((**

"NO!" Zeb yelled. Everyone watched as the current took the little girl far down the river.

Zeb stammered, "I—I tried—"

"It's ok, we just have to get her back," Ezra said as focused as he could be in the situation. He then said to the Mandalorian next to him. "Sabine, take the land speeder and help Housen back to base," he pointed to Housen who was still recovering on her hands and knees. Then Ezra said, "And get someone to pick us up downriver."

"What?" Zeb asked.

"We waist time on that transport, we have to run after the girl."

Without another word, Ezra and Zeb bolted downriver. They ran along the edge of the water, trying to see if they could catch a glimpse of the girl but she was starting to have trouble keeping her head up. When she tried to swim to shore, the rapids on the edge would push her back in the middle. They heard her yell out in fear, calling to someone. They couldn't tell exactly who, but it was a call for help, and only Ezra and Zeb were there. They needed to get her out.

As they both continued running, Ezra looked ahead and got an idea, "Zeb! The coral right there." He pointed far down the river to their side of the river. Growing from the edge of the shore was a giant leaflet. Like a half-bridge, it grew out of the ground and then stopped just over the middle of the river. Zeb yelled back, "I see it!"

"Catch us there." And with that Ezra jumped into the water.

Zeb grumbled, "Karabast! Now I have to worry about two people!" He then looked ahead at the coral again and noticed he would have to be ahead of Ezra and the girl to catch them from there. He picked up speed, running as fast as he could.

Ezra meanwhile was now swimming with the current towards the girl. She had already started to get exhausted, every so often her weakness letting the water rush over her head and threaten to pull her down. Thankfully she continued to wave her hands in a panic so Ezra could see her. As the boy got closer to her a giant wave came from behind and took them both bellow the surface. They both went spinning in the currents below. Ezra managed to maneuver himself to keep himself from spinning, and then opened his eyes to see.

It was dark but he could definitely see a blurry figure there. He went towards the girl, wrapping an arm around her waist and with the other pushing himself back up towards the surface. He broke through, coughing up water a little before getting his bearings and looking around. He kept a tight grip around the girl and keeping her head up, but she had not said anything since they came up. Looking down, he saw her passed out. "Oh no…"

"Ezra!"

The boy turned just in time to see Zeb standing on the leaf bridge waiting for them. As water pushed them downriver close enough, Ezra reached a hand and Zeb grabbed it. Using all his strength Zeb pulled Ezra, still holding the girl, out of the water. Ezra fell to his knees as he held the girl limp in his hands. Ezra managed to say through tired breath, "She's…. she's not breathing…"

**))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron (((((((((((((((((**

Hera had taken the transport the minute Sabine came with Housen and told her what happened. She rode along the edge of the trench so that she could see where Zeb and Ezra had gone. She brought the speeder to a halt finding when she found them kneeling down and taking shelter underneath a coral tree to get out of the pounding rain. It was just far enough from the shore of the river to keep from getting swept away.

Hera came running down the slope and to the tree and suddenly stopped just behind Zeb. She, astounded, in seeing the mysterious little girl laying on her back between Ezra and Zeb. The Lasat was doing compressions on her stomach as the girl lay still and eyes closed. Hera went to kneel by the girl's head and asked the boys, "What happened?"

Ezra said, "We got her out…. But… she…"

Hera didn't need to be told the rest. Once Zeb had done enough compressions, Hera leaned in, opened the girl's mouth, and breathed in hoping to push the water out of the girl's lungs. This went on five times. Zeb would compress, and Hera would breathe in, all while Ezra could only watch. It felt like with every try, more of the girl's life slipped away. She wouldn't breathe or wake up. At one point in desperation, Hera held the girl's head as if thinking that this comforting action can revive the girl.

It seemed to work….

The girl's eyes opened wide and she began to cough the water out of her lungs. Zeb and Ezra gave a sigh of relief as Hera helped the girl sit up. Hera said soothingly, "There you go, that's it…". Since she was weak from having gone through heavy rapids earlier, the girl could only sit up by leaning into Hera. The girl coughed fiercely until her coughs subsided to heavy breathing. Hera said, "Good girl."

The girl's eyes fluttered open and her head moved around as she tried to gain focus and see who was talking. She was too tired though, weakness forcing her to rest. The girl would mumble and groan as she struggled to stay awake. Hera gave a gentle, "Shhh," and pulled the girl closer. "You're ok, you can rest now. Just rest, honey." The soothing words of Hera made the girl relax. The girl tried looking around one more time before she finally closed her eyes and rested her head on Hera's chest.

"Strong girl," Zeb said.

"Brave, too," Ezra added. "She jumped into the water to save Housen."

Hera said, "I thought we had scared her off for good but it looks like good conscience brought her back." Almost instantly the girl began to shiver. "Let's get her to base, dry her up, and make sure she's completely ok."

**))))))))))))) Atollonians (((((((((((((**

Bendu hid behind a couple of coral trees to blend in and watch the scene just across the river. The Lasat picked up Nitza and carried her with much care towards a vehicle up the slope. The Twi'Lek and the human boy followed behind, trying their best to shield Nitza from the rain.

Bendu shook his head. Through the Force and the whispers of nature, Bendu knew that Nitza wasn't here by accident. Nitza had disobeyed him again. He was starting to get agitated that this was a pattern, but he himself knew… this was the beginning of something beyond his control.

He had to let Nitza learn and let her curiosity grow. It was imprinted deep within Nitza to be drawn to these people, no matter how many times Bendu told her to be cautious. And in being drawn to them, it made sense that these people would be drawn to her as well. Why else would they have risked themselves and come out in this storm to save Nitza?

It was the will of the Force.

And he served the will of the Force.

If anyone had been looking at Bendu then, they would have seen him there and then gone the next moment. The river's rapids slowed but the storm above ragged on.


	20. Unknown Safety

The wave had been so sudden, Nitza wasn't ready. She was forced under, trapped, unable to break to the surface. In fear, she gasped, a mistake she knew too late. She took in water, losing consciousness with a lack of air and depleting energy.

Darkness, then she felt air forced into her, the need to breathe. She coughed out water, letting her body's instincts force it out of her. Then she felt exhausted, letting herself rest against something…. Or someone….

She heard words. A kind voice, telling her she was all right. Nitza opened her eyes, but she could only see blurry figures. She only knew Bendu, and that wasn't Bendu. The person didn't sound or feel like Bendu. Where was Bendu? Where was she? Who were these people? What were they going to do to her? She tried to say something and move, but the person's sweet and gentle tone told her to rest. It was so entrancing, Nitza let herself rest. She felt cold, but the arms around her gave her warmth. She was fine.

Nitza then heard other sounds. It sounded like a tune of some sort. It went over and over again. What kind of sound was that? The air felt a little cold, and she felt herself resting no on something flat and hard. Something covered her and she felt things stuck to her skin. Nitza's eyes flashed open. Where was she?

She sat up, but the sudden movement made her dizzy and she fell on her back again. She rubbed her head and then blinked to adjust her vision. When it cleared she saw herself staring at a… whatever it was. She looked around and she found herself in some sort of contained space. All around were metal walls and the top was shining with a bright light. A room, she remembered that word, a room. She then looked down to see the thing that was covering her from neck to toe was a large kind of soft cloth. The hard thing she was lying on was some sort of… bed? Yes, that was the word. And the space she was in was…. A room.

But nothing in her memory could tell her what kind of room she was in. She knew she didn't like it when she found the source of the tune. On her right, there was a flat surface with some sort of moving lines that pulsed. A clear vine came from weird machines and the other end was attached to her skin, both hands, arms and even the side of her face. In fear, Nitza sat up again and pulled them off. Where was she? What was this place? Where was Bendu? She threw off the cloth but gasped at what she saw herself in.

Her regular clothing was replaced with a long bright blue piece of clothing. It covered her from her neck to her knees and had short sleeves. That's why she was unusually cold. Then she looked at her hands and then her body. She looked… cleaner? She usually was covered in dirt but now her skin was shiny. She ran her hands through her hair, feeling fewer tangles than usual.

She didn't like it. This wasn't normal for her. This wasn't right. She wanted her old clothing. She wanted her hollow in the Pit. She wanted Bendu. She wanted to know how she got here. She remembered the Flood. Zeb and the boy, she had seen them go after her but that was it. She had drowned, but here she was. Did they rescue her? What was the point? What did they want with her? She needed to get out.

She looked at her feet, thankful they kept her barefoot even when she jumped off the bed and felt the cold metal floor. She was even more thankful when she found that her old clothes had been folded at the foot of her bed. She changed into her old clothing then looked around to find a way out. Up wasn't the way to go but she did find something across from the bed embedded to the wall. It was rectangular in shape and it looked like it could be opened. As soon as she stepped close enough the rectangle surface slide to the side and disappeared revealing the other side. In fear, Nitza stepped back and the rectangle appeared again closing her off from the way out. She took a step forward and it opened again.

Giggling in victory of finding a way out, she began to step into the next room. It was a long, long room that went in either direction. Hallways…. That's what she remembered they were called. Nitza decided to turn left, because, well, she really didn't know which way was out. She just had to get out. She continued going before she heard footsteps come from an intersecting hallway in front of her. She hid behind the wall that faced away from the passer byers. She noticed they were the ones with the helmets, but that's all she could see. And as they walked away she continued sneaking down the hallway. "Out, out, out…." She whispered. She continued down a hall when she saw a shadow come up around a corner.

She gasped and turned to run the other way but stopped to see something walk up the hallway where she came from. A blue droid on two legs stopped when noticing her. Then it said in a strange voice, "You are not supposed to be walking. Return to your designated medical room." Whatever it was, the looks, the voice, the words… the fact that she wasn't used to droids made Nitza turn around again. She almost crashed into two men who were absolutely shocked frozen in seeing her. As she sprinted away, the droid said to the men, "It's the patient. She has escaped!"

Nitza had been running for a while, passing by more and more people and getting more and more pursuers. Finally, all the running paid off. She had found her way out. A ramp that led outside. She had come out one of the big ships, a very big one on the highest level of High Trees. And worse… so many people…

As if on cue, people who had been walking around or had chased her from inside the ship surrounded her from all angles to make a crowd. They whispered among each other, which only made Nitza more nervous. She began to panic. Her body trembled and her head went back and forth, looking for a way out. No way out, she was trapped. Nitza felt scared, cold, alone, surrounded, shut-in. People who made a move towards her would only step back again when she would do so.

Nitza felt helpless, that is until Nitza heard a strong voice from beyond the crowd, "Everyone move!" A tall man with hair combed back and an accent Nitza never heard before parted a small space among the crowd. Next to him was the green-skinned woman with head tails. She saw Nitza and stepped forward saying, "Hey it's ok—" Nitza stepped back.

The green woman looked around and then said something to the tall man. He then said to the crowd, "We need everyone to leave, please." Everyone seemed hesitant and rather intrigued by the scene to leave, but soon realized they weren't wanted and left. For Nitza, it felt like freedom had come. She turned to run but Zeb was suddenly there. He had his hands up and said, "It's all right Kid, you don't have to run. We ain't gonna hurt ya." Nitza stepped away from his sudden immense presence but stopped when she felt another presence.

The green-skinned woman was suddenly there. Nitza froze, putting her arms around herself as if to hug herself for comfort. She felt like she wanted to cry her fears. The woman bent down eye level with her and reached up to Nitza with one hand, "Zeb's right. You're ok, honey, no one here is going to hurt you. Ok?" Nitza closed her eyes as the woman put a hand on her shoulder. Feeling no pain but instead comfort, Nitza opened her eyes again. "Relax, you're all right." Nitza let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "That's it deep breaths." When everything had calmed down, the women said. "Are you feeling ok? After we rescued you we thought the flood had done more harm than we couldn't find."

Nitza looked at the woman shocked. So they had saved her. Nitza didn't know how to respond to that. She didn't answer with words. She hesitated but soon nodded. "That's good. I guess a good rest made you all better."

Zeb smirked. "Come on Hera. Two days asleep would make anyone better," Zeb said, jokingly. Nitza's eyes widened. Had she been asleep for two days?

The woman, Hera, shook her head but gave Zeb a grin. Then she said to Nitza, "So, what's your name, sweetie?" Just like with Ahsoka, Nitza didn't answer. She didn't want to talk, afraid she'd give something away that she wasn't allowed to say. She was going to be in enough trouble as it is with Bendu—Bendu. Nitza looked out in the direction of where the Pit would be… far into the horizon. Where was he? Hera looked in the direction and then looked back at Nitza. "Do you… live out there?"

Nitza again didn't say anything but did answer with a nod. Zeb crossed his arms and said, "Huh. Looks like Sabine was right."

Hera continued, "Are you alone out there?" Nitza shook her head. Relief washed over the women's face. "Thank goodness. I was beginning to think you were on your own." Nitza looked at Hera skeptically. Was she saying that because she just got valuable information… or did she care for Nitza's well-being? The tall man came around just as the blue droid came out from the ship. Nitza gasped and stepped back again, this time bumping into Zeb. She froze stiff and closed her eyes, hoping the contact wouldn't cause harm. All Zeb did was put an assuring hand on her shoulder as the droid said, "The patient must return to the med bay. She has not finished recovering."

Besides the droid's presence, the idea of being taken back to that room made Nitza panic. Instinct kicked in and she was going to run but Zeb grabbed her by the arm, "Wait, hold on—"

"No, no, No! Don't take me! Don't, don't!" She yelled, this time her voice cracking with a tear or two falling down her cheeks. Everyone looked at her shocked. This was the first time they had heard her speak.

Hera came up to the girl and kneeled down eye level again. She had Zeb let go of Nitza. Then Hera said, "We're not going to keep you here if you don't want to, honey, we just… want to make sure you're completely ok."

Nitza just wanted out. She said quickly and quietly, "I'm ok. I want to go."

Hera looked conflicted. It looked like she didn't want Nitza to leave, but at the same time, she wanted to respect Nitza's wishes. "If that's what you want." Hera stood up and held out a hand for Nitza. At first, Nitza looked at it warily, then hesitantly grabbed Hera's hand. The tall man said, "Is letting her go a good idea?"

"Trust me."

Hera and Zeb lead Nitza all the way down the man-made stairs around the trunk, all the while passing by people who eyed her in wonder. They made no move though and continued their business. When they got to ground level, they walked until they got just behind the line of metal sticks that surrounded high trees. "All right, hun, go on." Hera motioned to the tree line ahead.

Nitza was still holding Hera's hand, but she felt the grip loosen. Hera was really letting Nitza go. She looked between Zeb and the tall man. And then with that, she let go of Hera and ran.

))))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron ((((((((((((((((

Hera, Zeb, and Sato watched as the girl disappeared over the hill into the forest, only looking back once before leaving. Sato said, "I trust your judgments, Captain, but I need to understand why."

"She's come willingly before. Judging by how young and curious she is, she'll come again."

Zeb stated. "She didn't trust us then to make herself known. She was sneaking around."

"She was getting used to us. We made it worse by chasing her and then holding her we helped her recover but it was best we let her make her choice to stay. She knows now that we are willing to help her as well as willing to let her go. She'll come around again. It's a matter of time though."


	21. Realization

Nitza sat crossed legged in front of Bendu, head down, hunched over. They were in the Pit together, Nitza having walked in without a word, Bendu saying nothing either. All he could do was tower over her and wait until she said something. She didn't.

Bendu knew he would have to be the one to start, "I knew the moment those strangers arrived that life here wouldn't be the same… for you. You would want to learn about them."

Nitza looked up and said in reason, "But, but I… it's not that I wanted to learn. I mean, I did… I did, I did…. before they first saw me. Then after I didn't want to anymore. I got scared. Very scared." Bendu nodded, acknowledging her cautiousness. Then Nitza said strongly, "But the person who fell in the water wasn't doing what you taught me. Head up, swim with the current. She didn't, so I helped her. I didn't think I will drown. No, I did not."

Bendu went to lay down in front of her as he said, "You may know how to survive a flood, but there is a reason I tell you to avoid them in the first place. I am the Bendu, and I know nature can be unpredictable."

Nitza lowered her head again, "I know, you tell me many times. Many, many. I don't know why but…. I just wanted to help. Yes, I did, yes I did.

Bendu sighed. For a second, he was put off. Ever since Nitza had come to Atollon, Bendu found himself acting in ways that he had set aside eons ago. But Nitza was a growing child then, and Bendu was the only one around to help her. Bendu told himself that as long as it didn't change the course of nature, he would help Nitza as best he could. But with strangers making Nitza act out in such a way that made her push Bendu's warnings to the limit, Bendu's nature had been put to the test. And after this… Bendu knew that what he would say could possibly change Nitza. She made a decision that impacted others, impacted nature. Bendu couldn't say yes or no to it. He just had to say what he could.

"What you did for the person, was it good or bad?"

"It… it was good—I mean—for her. But what you said…. I don't know…. I'm sorry Bendu. Sorry, sorry."

Bendu took a deep breath. Nitza was still young though, and she hadn't been around people since she was five. That was a problem. Bendu didn't want to ruin her nature. So all he could say was, "My job is to let nature run its course, let events that transpire go untethered. But for beings, it is a natural instinct to help each other in a time of crisis. Your actions are reasonable… and so are their actions," Nitza looked up at him quizzically. "The Force allowed me to hear you call out. But I got there in time to watch them save you. They do mean well."

"But I still need to keep my distance," Nitza said knowingly. "Yep, yep, yep."

Bendu pondered. That was the natural thing to do, but was that really Nitza? She said that now, but she'll just keep being drawn to them. "Well… if that is what do you think."

Nitza became confused again. "What?"

"As I have said before, I can't stop your curiosity, it's your nature."

"But Bendu. What are you trying to tell me?"

Bendu's eyes widened. He should have known Nitza would want an answer. He has always given her some form of an answer to what she asked. But now that her new questions determined her fate… he couldn't. "I want you… I want you to think."

"Ok," Nitza said, uncertain. She stood up and walked up to Bendu. She reached out to his arm and tried to grab it in a hug and laid her head down on it. "I'm just happy to see you, yep, yep, yep."

Bendu smiled and was going to say the same but thought about it. One side of him, his physical side, would say he was happy to see her. But his powerful, Force side of him made him see what he was doing. This was a mistake. The Bendu was the Bendu… he couldn't feel the same. He pulled back and stood up. Clearing his throat, he said, "Hmm, yes…. Yes um… I believe it is time to sleep."

Nitza didn't see anything wrong with what just happened. She shrugged her shoulders, smiled, and said, "Ok, ok. Nite, nite, Bendu."


	22. And Now

Five months the strangers had been here, and a couple of weeks since the flood. Another storm was bound to come for sure, but Nitza took the chance to enjoy the sun while it was here. She was sitting on her leaf outside her hollow with Bendu resting underneath. He had been dozing off lately which worried Nitza. She stood up and then jumped down to land on Bendu's head. The giant lifted his head up from the ground and looked up. Nitza was poking her head just over his brow. "What is it, Nitza?" He asked.

"You want to sleep again? Yes, you do?"

"I must soon. The flood forced me to wake at a time I needed to sleep."

"Oh… for how long."

Bendu snorted, "You know how long. As long as it needs to be."

Nitza sighed and then moved back to get into a position where she laid down on his head. She looked at the sky and said, "When I get as old as you do I have to sleep a lot? Lot? Lot? Lot?"

Bendu laughed which made Nitza smiled. It had been a while since she heard him laugh. He said, "It's an interesting concept, but no. I am the Bendu. Only I need to sleep to so long."

"Hmmm."

The warmth of the sun and the idea of sleep suddenly made Nitza tired. She yawned and curled up on Bendu's head and closed her eyes. Bendu felt she was tired but didn't realize how tired until he heard a small snore. He chuckled and rested his head, not wanting to disturb Nitza and wanting to enjoy the peace with her. Then he suddenly jolted his head up, making Nitza fly five feet and then land on her back. The impact forced her awake and she sat up. "What? What?!"

"I… I should be sleeping now."

"I know, I know. I was too," Nitza said that slightly agitated. She was going to take a good long nap but Bendu's suddenness interrupted her.

Bendu heard her tone and grunted, "Well, you should be in your own spot."

Nitza sighed. "Ok, ok." She climbed up to Bendu's horn nearest her leaflet and jumped off from it. She grabbed the edge of her leaf but was dangling. Bendu sighed, using the Force to lift her up to stand on the leaflet. Realizing he had to use the Force to help her, Nitza turned around and said, "Sorry."

Bendu just nodded to acknowledge it. Then he began to form into position, the last thought he had was of how he treated Nitza. They both got annoyed with each other but Bendu had his reasons. He needed to focus and not with Nitza.

Nitza had trudged into her hollow to nap in there, but she had been plagued with the thoughts of what just happened. Bendu would sometimes become distant and she always knew because it had to do with him being the Bendu, but this was starting to be scary to Nitza. She didn't like how Bendu was more distant than usual. After about five minutes, Nitza wanted to go out and talk to him but when she crawled out she saw he was already in his camouflaged state. He wouldn't wake up even if she tried.

Nitza suddenly felt alone. This was normal after every time he slept, but after what happened she felt a little lost. Maybe something could keep her occupied.

And she did. A few moments later, she had found a group of krykna. They must have felt her sadness because they soon surrounded her but didn't attack. She patted one on the head bugle and said, "Hey, do you want to play a game?" Nitza gave a laugh and ran. It was time for the chase. One krykna followed her while the other side had stayed behind, uninterested. The one that followed her chased her through a cluttered forest of coral trees. Nitza laughed, the day's events washing away as she continued her trek over roots and around trunks. She had been lost in her fun, she had left the krykna behind.

Nitza took a turn around giant leaflet before looking forward again. Good thing she did because she saw something speeding towards her…. coming too close for her to get away. She gasped and shut her eyes in fear of impact. She heard the sound of machines screeching to a halt right in front of her. She opened one eye and saw one of the small transport machines had stop inches from impaling her stomach. Riding on top was the colorful woman. Just behind her, poking her head out to the side was Hera. Her face lit up and seeing Nitza, "Hey! You're ok."

The colorful girl scuffed and said to Hera, "Sato said you were the one who let her go because you thought she'd be ok."

Hera crossed her arms and said, "I'm allowed to worry if I want to, Sabine.

Nitza had been frozen in fear the whole time before the colorful girl, Sabine, addressed her, "Hey, sorry about almost running into you. This speeder could use more brake." Nitza raised an eyebrow, trying to understand what that all meant.

Right then and there, the krykna Nitza had been playing chase with had come around the bend. In seeing Hera and Sabine, it hissed and charged towards them. Hera and Sabine quickly pulled out items that Nitza had never seen before. As Hera yelled, "Behind you!" Sabine used what she had to shoot what looked like small bits of light to hit the krykna.

The creature's skin looked built to withstand the onslaught. But when Nitza turned to see that when the women shot the krykna the creature had to back up a couple of steps in response to being hurt. Hearing the krykna hiss in pain Nitza figured that Hera and Sabine had weapons. She yelled and waved her arms up, "Stop! You're hurting him!"

Hera and Sabine stopped firing, astounded by Nitza's words. "Hurt him?" Sabine asked. That's when the krykna took the chance to step in between Nitza the speeder to hiss at Hera and Sabine. Sabine was going to fire again but Hera reached a hand over hers to stop her. "Wait—"

The krykna didn't attack but staid hissing at Sabine and Hera. Hera looked around and saw Nitza step back away from them. When Nitza turned to run, the krykna did too, running around Nitza to get ahead of her. They both went around a leaflet and hid behind it. Nitza patted the krykna on the side of its head bulge to calm it down. Meanwhile, she cocked her head to the side to hear what Hera and Sabine were going to do.

Hera said flabbergasted, "That spider protected her."

"There is no way. Those things attack without a second thought," Sabine whined.

"Not for her. Maybe she's lived long enough here to make friends with them."

"And we still haven't figured out how long, huh."

"No…" Nitza heard the sadness in Hera's voice. Why though?

"Then why did you let her go?"

"Because it's not our choice to keep her at the Chopper Base. I don't want her to be scared of us. I want her to feel safe. She'll come in her own time."

Nitza frowned. All that Hera did for her…. All that the people did to rescue her… they just wanted to help. For the first time, Nitza felt bad for leaving them. As she heard their speeder rev up and then leave, she suddenly had an idea.


	23. Waking Up part 1

The waves…. They kept coming…. They grow and grow…. Pounding into his brain.

Bendu already knew what it was. A being. One of the strangers that lived in High Trees now. And now that Bendu had meditated long and hard…. He figured out this being was attuned to the Force. Bendu knew it wasn't the Bogen he had felt early into the stranger's first days here. But the feelings and the emotions that this being felt were a jumbled mess, making it hard to see the problem for Bendu. Where did this being stand?

Time was an illusion to Bendu, so he didn't know how long he had been trying to figure out why this being felt the way it was. Bendu didn't care for a time, but he knew better than to wonder about the waves that radiated off this being. The problem is though… it wouldn't let him go on. The waves nagged at him, from being awake to deep meditation. What was it with this being? Why did the Force care for this one…?

Bendu never questioned it…. Bendu did what the Force willed.

Bendu reached out. What was this being feeling now? Bendu got it….. misunderstood.

 _I see you….._ he said through the Force.

The being felt shocked now, the wave a rush to Bendu. So many emotions…. Things Bendu couldn't feel. Bendu kept himself grounded. He said again….. I see you…..

The being seemed to focus for a second, interests breaking Bendu had the being within grasp.

_Come to me….._

And the connection ended.

Nitza woke in her hollow, thinking the same thing she did every day for the past month. She would go and face strangers. Talk to them. Learn what she wanted to know and also… make up for always running away. But every single time she went she would always end up stopping just on the rise, little ways away from their border of metal sticks they kept around High Trees. Why was she afraid? Well… they wanted to know more about her for her safety…. But she wasn't trying to hide who she was because of who she was. After all, she barely remembered where she came from. She was more worried about Bendu. It's not like Bendu said she couldn't tell them about him, but something always made her want to just not say anything.

"Today, today, today! I will go. I will not say anything, and it will not stop me. No stopping, no, no, no." Nitza crawled out of her hollow and went to the edge of the leaflet. She looked down, frowning in seeing Bendu still in his deep sleep. It had been at least a month, or at least that's how long she had counted the days to add up to. Really she always depended on Bendu to tell time, even though most of his response was about time being an illusion. Whatever that meant.

Nitza climbed down the trunk of her tree and to the ground. She went over to where the Bendu's head was tucked behind his hands. Nitza put a hand on and elbow wiped some dust off. Long months of dust collecting, and one small hand like hers won't be enough to get it all off. Nitza sighed and began to trudge away.

Nitza decided she would go and try to get to High Trees again, but first… she was hungry.

Bendu waited a while, thinking the force-sensitive being must have gotten distracted with something. Between then and now though the emotions were on a spiral and annoying Bendu to no end. Something happened and Bendu needed it all to just stop. This being was trying to focus again and possibly looking for help from Bendu from earlier.

That's it, help!

 _I can help you…_ the Bendu had said through the Force.

The being became interested.

_Come…._

The being's confidence spiked. Bendu opened his eyes for the first time since he began his meditation. Bendu waited in his curled posture, feeling the being's presence come closer and closer. But as the being got closer a sound came with it. Bendu used the Force to block it, but he knew if he wasn't as powerful as that, the sound would have been ear piercing. He then heard someone… a male voice… callout physically just in front of him. "Hello? Are you there? I can sense your presence."

Bendu began to uncurl, standing up and supporting himself from the knuckles like he always did. He gave a little shake to get the dust around him to fall off and it fell like a waterfall of pebbles and sand. When he was clean he opened his eyes and looked down. The being was a human man, lightly dressed, bearded, hair tied back, and holding some sort of metal stick in his hand. Bendu could tell that the item was the source of the piercing sound. He would address that later. What interested him was the being's mask. Green and painted with white jaige eyes to cover only his eyes. This was odd considering beings like humans depended so much on sight to see and understand. He noticed the human face him, but not directly…. And he said nothing. The human being was patient, waiting. So Bendu began, "Ah…. You heard my call. Good. Your imbalance woke me from a deep slumber."

"Imbalance?" the human asked.

"Your presence is like a violent storm in this quiet world."

The human began to kneel down, stabbing the stick in the ground and saying surprised, "You're a force wielder, but you're not a Jedi."

Bendu laughed. "Wielder?" how could this human compare him, a being of such power to be a wielder of it. He had to clear things up. "Jedi and Sith wield the Ashla and the Bogan, the light and the dark. I am the one in the Middle…. The Bendu." Interested to see where this Force Sensitive stood, Bendu asked, "What do you call yourself?"

"Kanan Jarrus, Jedi Knight."

At first, Bendu wasn't all surprised at this title. Bendu remembered feeling not long ago the strong presence of the Ashla dwindle within moments. The Jedi had almost ceased and that is how the Bogan managed to become a bigger presence in the galaxy. But Bendu knew some Jedi remained as the Ashla continued to thrive. This must have been one of them. But then Bendu felt it, the uncertainty when Kanan spoke of his title. Slowly but surely Bendu was figuring out the trouble behind the human, but just in case…. "You carry conflict with you Kanan Jarrus. Jedi Knight…" Bendu said almost questioning the title.

Kanan sighed and reached back to bring out something that made Bendu's eyes widened. "It's this," Kanan said.

"Ah…." Bendu said looking at the red pyramid-shaped object in Kanan's hands. Bendu had not seen a thing like that in millennia. He knew the secrets it held. "Interesting." Bendu used the force to bring the object up and flout above his big hands.

Kanan said in a warning tone, "Careful it's…." It took little time for Bendu to open the object, the edges coming undone and flouting around the middle. Bendu heard the whispers of the dark….. the Bogan's need to take a hold of someone. Bendu almost laughed. Try and take a hold of him? How? He was the Bendu. As if thinking the object could persuade Bendu, Kanan said, "Dangerous…."

"How so?" Bendu asked.

"It's a Sith Holocron, a source of evil." Bendu rolled his eyes. He knew it was of Sith origin, but a source of evil? Bendu continued to listen. "My student's been using it and I'm afraid it's changing him."

Bendu shook his head. Yes, it spoke strongly than most voices of the Bogan, but the Bogan was still the Bogan. It could come from anywhere. "An object cannot make you good, or evil. The temptation for power, forbidden knowledge, even the desire to do good can lead some down that path. But only you can change yourself."

"Not always…" Kanan said.

And there it was as if the clouds parted away and let the sun's light shine on the problem. Bendu looked at the mask. The reason behind Kanan's conflicted emotions. Kanan thought something couldn't change, and since Kanan was the master of himself, Kanan felt he couldn't change…. His sight. Bendu smiled. This should be very interesting.


	24. Waking Up part 2

The rains had helped bring some coral trees to become seed bearers. Some were close to the Pit, making it only a short trip to find food. Nitza had gone through three pores filled with seeds, and she was already using a rock to crack through the fourth pore. When she broke through, a couple of dokma had come out of nowhere to sit in front of her. Among them was Print. They all stared up at Nitza, as if asking for some food. Nitza smiled, tossing a few seeds fruits to them. They ate their food as Nitza picked Print up in her hands.

She held out food for him to eat. As he did, Nitza said, "Do you think we should bring Bendu some?" Print looked up at her quizzically. She continued, "In case he wakes up today?" She then sighed and put Print down with the others. "Oh, I say that every day. And I bring food. He doesn't wake up." Now all the dokma looked at Nitza quizzically. She hid her face in the palms of her hands. She just felt, lonely. "I could go to High Trees. But what do I say? Do I not say anything?" She gave a growl of frustration before laying on her back feeling defeat. She looked up at the sky as if looking for an answer there. Nothing.

But with the clear skies, she was able to see something fly by. It gave a long screech before disappearing over the tree line. Nitza sat up and looked in the direction of whatever it was had disappeared to. Recognizing it as the call of a convor, Nitza stood up. It was heading towards the Pit. At first, Nitza worried if she should get her hopes up. Convors being active in the day usually meant Bendu was stirring, but she could be wrong. Suddenly, the dokma that had come to get food with her began to crawl down the trunk to the floor. She watched them slowly make their way to the Pit.

Nitza smiled, yelling, "Bendu!" before climbing down the tree herself. She ran to Print, picked him up, and then continued running towards the Pit. Nitza was excited, thrilled. She felt so alive! She could finally say sorry to Bendu. She felt bad for leaving him asleep when they both had a little fight before his slumber. She wanted to just be with Bendu without a fuss. She got to the edge of the Pit and was about to yell out to Bendu when she froze. She quick ducked behind a coral tree and hugged Print close to her. Then she peeked around. She saw Bendu awake which is the part that made her happy, but the part that scared her was who else was Bendu. It was the man she had run into when she was chased out of High Trees. The man with the mask over his eyes and the hair pulled back.

This time though, his mask was off. Nitza could see his eyes now. They were scarred. That's why he wore the mask, because it wouldn't matter, he was blind. That wasn't the most profound thing, though. He held an object so amazing, Nitza had to put Print down so she wouldn't drop him out of surprise. The object was a metal handle the man held and projecting from it was a blue light.

The thing that worried Nitza though was that he held it as if he was going to use it on two krykna surrounding him. Was he going to hurt them? Nitza looked at Bendu who just watched. Why would Bendu let the man do this to the defenseless krykna? More importantly, how did the man know Bendu was here? How did this all come about? Nitza listened into, hoping to hear an answer of a sort.

The man seemed to back off from the krykna, saying, "No… it's not the spiders. It's me. The fear, grief, anger, that's how they see me. That's how I see myself."

"Ah!" Bendu said enthusiastically. "Your sight returns."

Nitza didn't understand at first but then remembered what the man said. He saw himself with certain emotions, meaning he didn't know he had them. The krykna knew and Bendu knew. It took the man to face the krykna to…. see it. Well, that made sense. Nitza chuckled. Bendu always made it fun when trying to learn new things. The man continued, "I distance myself from everyone, from the Force too."

"Your connection to the Force allows you to see in ways others cannot. If you can see yourself, then you will never be truly blind," Nitza gasped. Bendu said the man had a connection to the Force. So he was force sensitive, but what did that make the man. As if Bendu heard her question to her thoughts, Bendu addressed the man, "Kanan Jarrus, Jedi Knight."

Nitza pondered. Bendu had talked to her once about Jedi, but it was a while ago so she would have to ask him later. The man said to Bendu, "I understand." Then he began to walk away from Bendu.

"Where are you going?" Bendu asked.

"Ezra needs me, they all do."

"What of the spiders?"

"I can see them, so there's nothing to fear."

"What of this?" Bendu held up a pyramid-shaped object in his hand, and Nitza wondered what it was.

"Keep it! As a gift."

Nitza cocked her head to this side. A gift? That's strange? Did he know Bendu from before?

Bendu held the object and laughed as if the idea of the gift was a joke. The man went up the hill, passed the krykna, and was soon gone. That's when Bendu turned to where Nitza stood, high at the other end of the Pit. There was a smile on his face. Nitza ran down the hill, yelling, "Bendu! Bendu! Bendu!" The Bendu bent down so his muzzle was to the ground. It allowed Nitza to be able to jump high and enough to grab him by the nose in a tight hug. "You're awake, you're awake, you're awake!"

"Of course. I told you I would have to wake up anyway."

"But you never know when. But that doesn't matter, you're awake!" she rested her head on him, a smile on her face.

Bendu couldn't help but smile back. It was satisfying to be awake just to see her doing well. He would have liked a longer sleep but now wasn't the time. Finally, when Nitza pulled away she looked at the direction the man went. "Bendu? Who was that? Who? Who?"

Bendu stood up tall and looked to where the being had gone. "He calls himself Kanan Jarrus, Jedi Knight."

"I heard that but… what's a Jedi Knight?"

"I've told you."

"Long, long, long time ago. I forget."

Bendu chuckled and laid down again so that he could be close to Nitza. "They are force sensitives who use the light side."

Nitza got excited walking a few steps towards where Kanan left. "Oh, you mean Ashla."

"Yes."

"And the blue light thing?"

Bendu grumbled. He had never been a fan of lightsabers. When Kanan pulled his out, Bendu became disappointed. Jedi and Sith were too dependent on weaponry. "Those are called lightsabers. He had a blue one, meaning he fights with the force more physically to destroy the dark."

Nitza turned around with a look of worry on her face. "Bogan."

"Yes."

"Does he fight the Bogan that is at High Trees?"

Bendu thought. He remembered Kanan saying his apprentice was using the Sith Holocron. Even though the object couldn't be the source of darkness, it was still part of the influence. Kanan's apprentice was the Bogan he had felt, but Kanan didn't look to be the one to fight his own student. "No," Bendu answered Nitza. "I believe he is a little more patient than that."

"What does that mean?" Nitza asked confused.

"The best way I can explain it to you, Nitza, is that Kanan Jarrus knows how to handle the Bogan, but not in a fight."

"Oh…. Hmmm…. How will he do it?"

"Beings like humans are unpredictable. Perhaps an exchange of words. We will have to wait and see."

Nitza walked back to Bendu. "Bendu, how did he know you were here? Did he sense you?"

"Yes. The reason I've been needing to sleep this time was that his waves of emotions were making it hard for me to get around. Nature was becoming disturbed. Once I slept and concentrated, I managed to find him and call him here. His emotions were clouded by his own blindness."

Nitza put both hands on his hand, "But you helped him to see through the Force, right? That's what I heard you say?"

"I did say that, but no. I did not...help... him learn to see. I only pushed him to figure out his own problem himself. Nature can't help beings in their favor."

"Oh…." Nitza then went to sit on Bendu's hand. "Will he come back?"

"I do not know, again, beings are unpredictable." Then Bendu opened his hand. He looked at the Sith Holocron. "But… it is a possibility."


	25. Items

Nitza and Bendu sat together looking up at the stars. The night had fallen so Nitza had suggested they spend time together star gazing. After all, Bendu had just woken up so Nitza wanted to pass the time thinking Bendu wouldn't be tired. That was the complete opposite of what Bendu was feeling, but Bendu wanted to amuse Nitza. After all, she was the one who needed the energy drain.

"The other day I was looking at that star…" Nitza said from her spot laying down on Bendu's head. She pointed to a bright cluster in the far right of the sky. "What if it has many colors, lots and lots of colors!

"Really now?" Bendu said, a little enthusiastic by Nitza words. "What colors do you want to see?"

"Hmm. Red and green."

Bendu laughed.

Nitza heard the clink of metal and she sat up to look down. Print and a group of his dokma friends were huddled a little ways away from the Bendu. They were looking at something shiny. Nitza climbed off Bendu's head and skillfully slid down his arm to land on the ground in a squat. She went over to the shiny thing and picked it up. Bendu noticed her leave and watched as she picked up not one but two metal objects. He grumbled at the sight.

Nitza said, "The metal sticks. The strangers use them. A lot and a lot."

"They call it transponders. They are meant to keep the creatures away. I destroyed that dreaded thing when Kanan Jarrus brought it."

"They hurt the krykna," Nitza said sadly. Then she remembered Sabine and Hera pulling out the weapons and hurting the krykna who was just play chasing her. "Why do the strangers hurt them?"

"They do not know what they don't understand. They think they are protecting themselves."

"Can't you teach them the way you taught Kanan Jarrus today? The way you taught me?"

"Why should I? Kanan was the one who had the mind to learn. If the others don't want to learn then they must figure it out themselves." Nitza nodded. This was how Bendu worked. This was his idea of balance. But Nitza still wondered that there was a way that the strangers could learn. Maybe that should be another reason for Nitza to go to the strangers…. To teach them.

She then noticed Bendu fumbling with his left fingers. Nitza dropped the metal and went up to his fist. "Bendu? What are you doing?"

Bendu did not say at first. On instinct, he worried that the whispers would call to Nitza. Then he chuffed. What did he have to worry about? It was just an item, the knowledge inside couldn't persuade her to do anything. Either way, she wouldn't be able to listen to the words of the dark side. She wasn't Force sensitive. He opened his palm to show her the Holocron. Nitza gazed at it in wonder as she leaned his palm. "It's shiny!" Nitza reached out and grabbed it. "Very shiny! What is it? What what?"

"A Sith Holocron."

"Sith…. Sith…" Nitza said as if trying to remember. She started to play with it. Tossing it between her hands and playing with the flat surface. "What's a Sith again?"

"The darkest of the Bogen's power.

Nitza gasped and tossed the Holocron back into Bendu's palm. She then said frightened, "I saw Kanan Jarrus give it to you…. What are you going to do with it?"

Bendu had been thinking just that, but an idea hadn't come. He looked around. He never kept things items Nitza did, so he had no hollow or anything to put it in. He surely wasn't going to let Nitza keep it. At one point he saw one of the krykna crawl out of the cave, and that's when he figured it out. He said to Nitza, "You've gone into the caves of the krykna."

"To play. Only two times. Two times I can remember."

"How deep are they?"

"Not deep, but very long. Long and long and many and many."

"Hmmm, perfect." Bendu held out the Holocron, "This should not be left in the open and the krykna have no use for it." He closed his eyes and focused his mind with the krykna. The creature froze, entranced by the Bendu's connection to it. Bendu waited for the krykna to let him through and when Bendu's request was accepted, Bendu used the Force to let the Holocron fly through the air.

Nitza watched mesmerized as Bendu used little concertation to gently put the Holocron on top of the krykna's bulge of a head. The krykna then turned around and went back into the cave. Nitza asked, "What did you do? What, what?"

"I asked if they could keep the Holocron for me deep in their home. They approved."

"Will you need it again?

"I don't need such a useless item. But I figured it's possible Kanan Jarrus will come back for it."

"Hmmmm." Nitza then yawned and went climbing into the palm of Bendu's hand. "I'm sleepy." Bendu could only watch as the little girl curled up and began to close her eyes. He didn't really want to argue, so he just let her sleep in his hands. What harm would it do anyway? Bendu laid his head down next to his outstretched palm and closed his eyes. Then once again he opened them.

What harm could it do? Possibly change the course of Nitza's future. He shouldn't let her get too comfortable with him. What if one day… he just wasn't there. Bendu snorted. Bendu would always be on Atollon. Of course, he would be there. He sighed and went back to trying to sleep. But he was still thinking…. Was this right?


	26. Proper Tour part 1

"Any chance you can join up on our next mission?" Hera said to Kanan as they were both walking along the edge of the transponder border.

Kanan said with a smirk, "Of course. Especially after Rehklam Station, I realized how much I missed the thrill."

Hera rolled her eyes. "Right, it was just for the thrill."

Kanan said, "And thrill is not your st-" Kanan stopped walking. He felt something... through the Force... coming from beyond the border.

Noticing him hesitate, Hera stopped and asked, "Kanan?"

Kanan turned his head in the direction he felt it. "Someone's watching."

Hera looked to where Kanan motioned, seeing a couple of leaflets growing just a little ways behind the border. At first, it was nothing to look at, until she saw a head poking out from behind the coral. Hera's eyes widened, recognizing the girl. The girl gasped when she saw she was spotted and she hid behind the leaf again. Hearing her Kana stated, "It's the girl."

"Yes," Hera acknowledged him. She then smiled at the girl and yelled out, "It's ok sweetie, you don't have to hide."

The girl poked her head out again. Hera motioned the girl to come forward, keeping a smile to assure she meant no harm.

**))))))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((((((**

Nitza took a deep breath. She came here because she wanted to meet them properly. She had been stalling herself for days. So it was now or never. Nitza walked out from behind the leaflets and to the border. She slowed down, looking at the metal sticks with interest before finally stopping in front of Hera and the man. She kept a little distance, but that didn't stop Hera from being nice.

"It's good to see you again," Hera said. Nitza rolled on the balls of her feet and put her hands behind her back. She didn't want to say anything still. But that didn't last long. "I don't think we properly met. I'm Hera, and this is my friend Kanan."

Nitza looked straight up to Kanan and smiled. He was a protector of Ashla, Bendu's new friend. Nitza smiled and opened her mouth to say something but quickly shut it. Did Hera know?

Hera did see Nitza's reaction but took it as something else. "Oh..."

"What?" Kanan asked

"She ran into you, remember. I think she wants to say sorry." That was partly true, especially since now Nitza felt bad for running into Bendu's friend.

Kanan chuckled and said to Nitza, "It's ok, kid, we were both a little distracted that day." Nitza smiled and nodded, thankful for how easy going he was about it.

Hera said, "Well you're here now, why don't we show you around. I think you're due for a Proper Tour. Don't think you got to see much by sneaking around."

Nitza gave a sheepish smile.

**)))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron (((((((((((((((**

As Hera motioned the girl forward, Kanan whispered to her, "A proper tour?"

"To get to know her more. See who she really is."

"She hasn't talked once, Hera."

"She did after she woke up."

"Out of fear."

"We'll take it slow then."

Hera took the girl around to the ground level. "These are all our fighters, from A-wings too..." she faltered when she saw the look of confusion on the girl's face. "You have seen ships before, right?" The girl nodded slowly. "What did they look like?" The girl's face scrunched up in thought, then she used her fingers to make a shape.

Hera tensed, and Kanan felt it. "What?" He asked

"She made a triangle," Hera gasped. Kanan was the one who was tense now.

The girl suddenly left them and walked up to the Ghost from the front. She looked up and her mouth hung open slightly, taking in its size. Hera walked up next to her and said, "Yep, this is the best one around. Though you should now I fly it so I'm probably a bit biased." Hera said it as a joke though it didn't seem like the girl understood it and she just nodded. Hera asked, "Do you want to go in?" The girl panicked and stepped back. Hera said gently, "It's ok, hey, it's ok. We don't have to go in today. Some other time then." The girl relaxed as Hera moved on with Kanan walking next to her. The girl slowly followed behind.

Hera and Kanan took the girl to the first level of Chopper Base. Kanan said, "This is just our storage area. The real action is just one level higher." And he was right. As soon as they got to the main control station, the girl was overwhelmed. There were so many machines and people, the way she reacted made it look like she was new to all this. She stepped back, bumping into Kanan. He had to admit, Hera was right. They were learning more with observing than talking.

Suddenly a cheery voice was heard, "Hey, you..." all three looked and saw Housen coming up to them, a smile on her face. She said to the girl, "I thought I would never see you again." Though the girl recognized her, Housen's quick approach made the girl turn and reach out to Kanan, grabbing the side of his shirt for comfort. It shocked the Jedi but he made no move to pull her away. Housen stopped next to Hera and asked, "What's wrong?"

Hera responded, "She's a little shy."

"Shy? Huh. Well, I guess someone as brave as her can be a little humble."

The girl turned her head around a little, a look of confusion on her face. Housen bent down eye level with the girl and said, "I've been wanting to say thank you for saving me. You really know how to handle yourself out there." Housen held up a hand for her to shake. At first, the girl looked at it, not knowing what to do, but then she reached out and grabbed it. Housen gave her a good shake before letting go. When she stood straight Housen asked, "So is she staying?"

The girl panicked and looked away to stare at Kanan's shirt again. The man looked towards Hera before saying to Housen, "It's up to her." Hera smiled, thankful for Kanan in backing her up.

Housen said to the girl, "Well, just know that you're always welcome to come, ok?"

The turned her head again and nodded. When Housen left, Hera got an idea. "Hey," She asked the girl. "Are you hungry?"


	27. Proper Tour part 2

Zeb held a small crate in hand full of fruit as Sabine walked with him down to the storage level. When they got there, they saw Hera and Kanan sitting together on top of some bigger crates. Zeb and Sabine looked a bit skeptical at the scene. It had been a while since the two had time together but... "Ok," Zeb addressed the two, "Why did we have to bring foo- oh." He and Sabine suddenly noticed the girl was sitting on a crate across from Kanan and Hera.

Sabine said, "That makes sense... kind of..."

As Zeb and Sabine came up to the group, Kanan explained, "We thought we could get to know each other a little more over food."

Sabine went by Hera and said, "Never should have doubted you."

"Well, I did that once to you.."

"Forever ago."

"Now we're even."

Zeb and Sabine went up to the girl. Sabine said, "I'm Sabine, this is Zeb."

Zeb then said, "Its good to see you hanging around." He held out the small box. "I guess you get the first pick, then."

The girl scooted away at the approach, but then she relaxed. In the box was food, and she looked at it with hungry eyes. She smiled at Zeb then grabbed a jogan. Zeb then let everyone grab their own before setting the box down and eating his share.

**)))))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((((((**

Seeing everyone was eating, Nitza looked at her own fruit.

"Do we have a name yet?" Zeb asked Kanan and Hera.

Nitza saw Kanan and Hera frown, and Nitza did too. She guessed she held back more then she should have. After all, they have referred to her as 'the girl'. She heard Hera answer, "She's not used to a lot of people, that's for sure."

"And doesn't like going into ships." Kanan added, "So she doesn't get out. Which is weird, because she has seen a Star Destroyer."

Zeb and Sabine were shocked at this, but Nitza gave them no more time to react. She wanted to say what she needed to say. Nitza took a deep breath, "Nitza."

Now the entire group was in complete shock. Hera said, "Nitza? Is... that your name?" Nitza nodded. "Well, Nitza, it's finally nice to meet you."

Nitza smiled and looked back at her fruit. Then she took a bite. There was a word that was used to describe the taste. So familiar, so sweet, so good. Her eyes went wide and she gave the people a grin and a little laugh. They all chuckled in reaction, Sabine saying, "She's so cute."

Nitza blushed. She took another bite of her fruit and was going to continue eating when she heard a familiar voice from behind the group. "Hey, guys!" Nitza swallowed hard, and the fruit dropped from her hand. The people didn't notice because they turned to look at the newcomer. It was the blue-eyed boy walking up to the group with a casual gate. But Nitza barely noticed him right here at the moment. All she could do was remember how they first met. The Force, he used it to move the crates... and it was in anger. The power of the Bogen... Nitza quickly climbed off were she was sitting and hid behind the crates. The boy continued, "You invited me for... a fruit party?" Nitza peaked her head over the crates.

The boy had stopped next to Zeb. "Yes Ezra, and it's a fruit-throwing party," Zeb said sarcastically. He held a fruit up as if pretending he was going to throw it. The boy, Ezra, smirked playfully and lightly punched Zeb in the shoulder.

Nitza looked at the scene, worried. What was going on? Why weren't the others afraid? Ezra said, "Har, Har. No, but really, what's up?"

Hera said, "We'd thought you'd like to meet Nitza-" everyone looked where Nitza was, now concern was in their eyes. They wondered why she was hiding. But how could they? Didn't they know Ezra was Bogen? Ezra looked and in noticing her he said, "Oh, hey there."

Nitza gasped, ducking behind the crates again.

Hera said, "She gets shy though."

She heard a lot of footsteps then Hera came around her right. "Nitza, it's ok. Ezra's with us." Hera bent down and held out a hand. Nitza took it, only to feel some sort of comfort. But when Hera pulled her up to stand, Nitza saw on the other side of the crate was Ezra. Nitza gave a yelp. She looked around quickly and then spotted Kanan coming up with Sabine and Zeb. Remembering what Bendu had said about Kanan, Nitza ran to Kanan.

**))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron ((((((((((((**

Everyone watched as Nitza just slammed into Kanan. He slightly stumbled but kept himself up. Nitza then went to stand behind him before clinging on to his shirt and burying her face in it. Kanan didn't believe it at first, but he thought he heard her whisper, "Don't let the Bogen hurt me, please." Kanan froze. The Bogen? He'd heard that before. So recent he had heard it, Kanan remembered seconds later why. The Bendu, the Bendu had named the dark side The Bogen. No one else had. But that would mean... if Bendu lives out in the wilderness and so did Nitza... did that mean the person who was taking care of Nitza... was the Bendu? But how was that possible. He was a powerful being of the Force, right?

Zeb laughed and pointed at Ezra, "Hah! She just called you Bogen!" Kanan scratched his chin in thought. Zeb had been known to use Bogen as a term to call anything that's annoying to him. But still, all Ezra did was walk in, so why was she calling Ezra a Bogen? If she knew Bendu, then she knew the Bogen meant the dark side... and Ezra did use the dark side these last six months. But that still didn't answer how she knew about Ezra. She wasn't force sensitive, was she?

Ezra crossed his arms and whined to Zeb, "Ok that's Bantha! She did not call me Bogen, you're just playing, Zeb."

Zeb kept a grin and held his hands up in defense. "I swear."

"Not funny, Zeb," Sabine warned.

"I'm not kidding!"

Hera noticed the girl panic with every word being thrown around. "Ok everyone, stop! We're freaking her out." Hera went to Kanan and bent down close to be eye level with Nitza. "Don't worry, Nitza. Ezra's not going to hurt you. In fact, he jumped into the flood to save you."

At that, the girl peaked out to look at Ezra. He gave her a small wave but beam concerned. He saw Nitza's eyes were filled with confusion. She didn't know whether to trust him or not. She didn't seem to want to. She was really afraid of him. Then he suddenly remembered how the two had first met. Ezra frowned, "Oh..."

"What?" Hera asked.

"When we first chased her down, I found out she was around through the Force. I used it to push down some crates she was hiding behind. It freaked her out."

"Ezra-" Sabine began.

"I didn't mean to! I thought she was a trespasser. If I knew who she was I wouldn't have done that." He stepped forward towards Nitza, "I'm really sorry." Nitza ducked behind Kanan again, shutting her eyes. Ezra stepped back and looked away. In guilt, he rubbed the back of his head. He really felt like he screwed up.

Hera stood up, "Maybe we should let her go home for the day." Hera then looked at Kanan. "That's the second time she's clung on to you like that."

"I think I've got an idea of why." Without another comment that would give some better answer that the others could get, Kanan said, "I'll take her back from here."

"You sure?" Zeb asked.

Kanan ushered Nitza forward to walk with him to the trunk of the tree. "I'm sure." Everyone watched until the two had gone out of sight down the staircase. Kanan brought Nitza down to the ground level, the girl no longer hugging him from behind but still had a good grip on his shirt. As they got to the transponder border, Kanan said, "I don't know what Bendu's taught you about the Bogen, but Ezra wouldn't hurt you." Kanan felt Nitza was slightly surprised, probably because she didn't expect Kanan to figure out Nitza lived with the Bendu. Kanan continued, "It's true what Hera said. He did jump into the flood to save you."

The two stopped just behind the border, Nitza letting go. Nitza almost whispered, "Really?"

"Really."

"Kanan Jarrus, Jedi Knight...was the Bog- was Ezra really sorry?"

Kanan was a little taken back Nitza used his full title but answered her question. "Yes… it's just before… he was just lost." Nitza listened intently to his explanation. "A while ago, we lost someone. I don't blame him for the loss, but Ezra does blame himself anyway. All he wants to do is make up for it, but in doing so he got pulled to the dark side. I'm doing my best to bring him back. A couple of days ago, I got him to take a couple of steps back on the right path, but we're still trying."

"Ok…" Nitza said, "Thank you…. For letting me come."

"Anytime. And next time, just walk in. You're welcome here, Nitza."

Nitza nodded and then began to walk away. Kanan waited until he felt Nitza had gone a good distance away before he turned back to go with the others.


	28. Holocron Help part 1

A couple of days after Nitza had first officially met the strangers, the last of the storms came and gone. The sun was coming down as Nitza and Bendu were finishing up cleaning up after the last storm of the season. Some boulders had crushed some tunnels entrances of krykna homes. So when Bendu was moving them, Nitza would help with the Krykna.

She stood by one open entrance with a couple of adolescent krykna. She tried leading them back to their home. "Go in, go in, go in… it's not dangerous anymore. No, no, no…" The krykna looked at each other, worried. Nitza giggled and ran into the cave and hid behind the wall. "It's all cozy in here. You can come in." Bendu was done moving the boulders and had come to watch the scene from outside. The krykna were still skeptical. Nitza continued, "It also echoes in here…. ECHO!" her voice rang throughout the tunnels and was heard by the krykna outside. They all took a couple of steps back out of surprise.

The Bendu saw it all and gave a laugh. Even though he knew words weren't something the krykna understood, he still said to them, "Don't worry, her yell is the only scary thing about her."

Nitza ran out, hearing Bendu's words. She curled her fingers like claws and gave a devilish grin, "My yell can make earth shakes! Move storms! Rawr!"

Bendu shook his head, with a grin still on his face. "All right, all right, let them through Nitza."

"Right, right, right." She stepped aside as the krykna crawled into the tunnel. "That's the last one. Yep, yep, yep."

"Let's head back then."

As they did, Nitza rode on Bendu's head. She got a view of the tips of High Trees. Seeing them Nitza asked, "I want to go back, yep, yep, yep."

"If that is what you want. I'm not stopping you."

"I know… but… I told you what Kanan said about the Bog- I mean Ezra. Do you think I still should go back?"

"Knowing what you told me of what Kanan Jarrus has said… I believe progress between the relationship with his apprentice is possible. In addition to him giving me the Holocron to keep, High Trees is safer then it was before. That does not mean it is completely safe."

"Ugh…. Bendu…. Just say yes or no…. it was always yes or no. Always, always, always."

"Always is much too definite of a term I would use."

"Yes, but it always sounded like that. Wait- I said always."

Bendu sighed and said, "This is your decision, not mine. If it is in your nature that is."

"Hmmm… okay…." Nitza agreed, a little disappointed.

The sun had set when the two reached the Pit, creating a beautiful starry night over Atollon. The moon was even bright enough to give light to see far and wide. That's what kept Nitza awake late into the night. Bendu had gone to sleep, resting near Nitza's coral tree. Or at least, he was trying to sleep. He would lay down with his head on his hands, and then raise his head from his whenever he heard Nitza laugh. She was rolling down a slightly steep hill by the pit. She would go on her side and let gravity pull her down. When she reached the bottom, she would sometimes let out a laugh.

After a couple of times of Nitza rolling down the hill, another sound was heard. It grew louder as it grew closer. It was ear-piercing. Bendu used the Force to drown it out but he turned his head to face it in the direction it came from. Beyond the Pit. He furrowed his eyebrows and growled. Nitza was climbing up the hill again when she saw something far from the pit. It was a small light at first, and then it started getting brighter and closer. "Bendu…" Nitza began worriedly.

"Come." Bendu stood up and held out his hand. Nitza ran down the hill and then jumped into Bendu's outstretched palm. He places her on his shoulder and began to get into camouflage position. Nitza hid in the crock of his neck behind a coral shell plate. As Bendu had his back turned to what was coming, Nitza peeked out to look at what transpired. It turned out to be Ezra and Kanan as they rode in on a speeder. "Huh…" Nitza whispered, surprised to see them both here together. Bendu didn't have to look. He sensed their presence coming and something else annoying….

Nitza watched as Ezra rode the speeder down the side of the pit and then let it sit by the edge of the slope, right behind Bendu. As they got off Nitza saw Ezra stick one of the transponders into the dirt. Bendu and Nitza slightly grumbled, hearing the annoying sound of beeps in their own way. Kanan went to walk in the middle of the Pit, calling out, "Bendu! Bendu are you here?"

"Bendu?" Ezra said confused as he followed behind Kanan, "Who's Bendu? There's nothing here." Feeling them walk with backs to him, Bendu decided to slowly turn around and reach out to the transponder. He grabbed it in his hands and went back to hiding, all without letting two strangers know he was there. Nitza moved closer to Bendu's head to watch as he broke the transponder in his hands.

"Bendu, I need the Holocron! Bendu!" Kanan continued to call. Bendu chuffed. He needed the Holocron after he just gave it to Bendu to keep away from his apprentice. And he demanded it like Bendu was his to control. Hmmm….. beings these days…. So demanding….

"Oh but I do see crawlers, lots of them!" Ezra yelled out, worry in his voice. "Hey, where's our thumper?" Nitza went back to looking at the strangers. As soon as Bendu broke the…. Thumper…. As Ezra called it, krykna came and began to surround him and Kanan. And Nitza could see it…. in his posture…. His eyes. He was…. Afraid…. Nitza had been afraid of him. Bendu said it was normal to be afraid. For the first time, Nitza saw Ezra as… a person…. And not a Bogen.

Kanan tried to calm him down but Ezra didn't seem to listen. He pulled out an item and suddenly a green light shot out from it. It was a lightsaber, like Kanan, but green in color. Nitza was amazed, wondering how many colors were possible. As Ezra used it to try and scare the krykna away, Kanan said, "It's possible to get along with them."

"Hmm, tried that, remember?" Ezra reasoned. "Almost ripped my face off." Bendu growled. If Kanan needed a lesson in sight, then the boy Ezra clearly needed a lesson in listening. Bendu closed his eyes, concentrated, and used the Force to connect minds with the krykna. He asked them to leave at their own will. The krykna complied and dispersed quickly.

Kanan felt them leave, saying, "He's here."

"What?" Ezra asked. Bendu rolled his eyes. He tossed the broken piece of the transponder over his shoulder and they landed a couple of feet away from Ezra. Then Bendu began to move. He stood making the dust of the ground around him make a cloud around his feet. Nitza hung on to his shoulder plate tight as he turned around to face the strangers. Kanan stood tall with a smirk on his face while Ezra was slack with mouth hanging open so wide his jaw looked like it would fall off. Nitza giggled silently. Bendu began, "The Jedi returns and with his student." He saw Ezra's reaction and decided to humor the situation. "Perhaps for a talk?" and then Bendu gave a hearty laugh.

"I don't believe it…." Ezra gasped. Then suddenly his eyes grew wider when he spotted Nitza sitting on Bendu's shoulder. "And I don't believe it…." he said pointing to her.

Nitza didn't hide this time. Instead, she stood up to walk to the end of Bendu's shoulder. She gave a shy wave and a shy, "Hello."

Ezra's eyes darted back and forth between Nitza and Bendu before looking to Kanan. "Did you know that this is what Nitza meant when she said she wasn't living alone out here?"

"I figured it out the end of her last visit," Kanan said.

Nitza whispered into Bendu's ear, "Put me down." The giant nodded and held out his hand so that she would jump on it. Ezra and Kanan watched amazed as Bendu gently put Nitza down on the ground. She then slowly went up to Ezra and said, "I forgive you about using the Force to scare me… and thank you for saving me."

Ezra felt relief, knowing what she meant. "Thank you and your welcome Nitza… that means a lot coming from you" He held out a hand to her. She looked at it, remembering that Housen had done the same thing. So Nitza did the same she did before, she grabbed Ezra's hand and he shook it.

"Unfortunately we don't have time to chat," Kanan began sounded serious.


	29. Holocron Help part 2

"We've come for the Holocron," Kanan said.

Bendu didn't react, just said, "Ah yes…. The Keeper of the Shadow Lore…. Why do you want it?"

Kanan put a hand on Ezra's shoulder. "Tell him, Ezra."

The boy was a little weirded out by the request. First Ezra was still trying to grasp the fact he was in front of a giant creature that he could just feel through the Force was unlike any other creature… that and the giant could talk. Second, his mind was spinning now that he understood Nitza and her behavior for being distant. Ezra had to focus because thirdly, his friends depended on him to be focused. Ezra said, "Oh… ok." he began, "We need the Holocron to save our friends."

"Friends?" Nitza asked. "Hera, Sabine, Zeb…" she said, worried. "Are they in trouble?"

"Yeah," Ezra said. He tried to reassure her, "They're fine… for now…" He looked back at Bendu. "But A Sith, Darth Maul, has them. He wants it." Even though he finished, Ezra wondered if he should be more specific. After all this Bendu seemed to live here all his life so who's to say he knows what goes on beyond Atollon.

Ezra's question was answered when Bendu said, "I do not know this darksider, but I know his kind." So yes, the Bendu did know where Ezra was going with this. Bendu was more knowledgeable than he looked.

"He's Bogen…" Nitza whispered. "Oh no, no, no…" Ezra looked at Nitza slightly confused. But he could see in her eyes that whatever that meant, it was easy for Nitza to understand the situation quickly. Maul was a threat to the people she had met. It looks like she hung around with Bendu long enough to understand certain things. It almost made Ezra wonder if she was force sensitive herself.

Bendu asked Ezra, "Why does he want it?"

"I don't know…" Kanan began, "But he also wants my Jedi Holocron."

"Oooh," Bendu said as if it was obvious the answer. "He would bring them together. Such a convergence carries grave danger."

"Why?" Ezra asked.

Bendu went on to explain how merging the two Holocrons could bring visions so powerful that through the Force the seeker can see even one's destiny. Bendu seemed to hesitate before saying, "I have seen it before."

Kanan suddenly felt a bit of tension from Nitza. The girl looked up at Bendu in amazement as if this bit of information was new to her as well. Ezra saw it but focused on the task at hand. "Well, we can't control what Maul will do…"

"That's his point, Ezra," Kanan replied.

"Well, we still need it to save our friends, Kanan." Ezra then addressed Bendu impatiently. "Well, are you going to give it to us or not?"

Bendu raised an eyebrow, clearly dissatisfied with Ezra's tone towards him. Nitza seemed a bit surprised as well. Bendu said, "The Holocron is a source of imbalance between you and your teacher. If you want it, you must seek it out with him."

Ezra thought that wouldn't be so hard. "Where is it?" Bendu turned himself to face their right. Both Jedi turned to face the direction.

Ezra saw a cave. "Somewhere safe," The Bendu said. Safe? What's safe about a cave that was almost 100% certain to be crawling with man-eating spiders?

It got weirder when Nitza added, "Yep, krykna are nice, that's why Bendu left it with them. Yep, yep, yep."

Maybe they didn't have a problem with the spiders, but Ezra did. Ezra could probably manage to go in but he wasn't going to risk Kanan. He said to his master, "Ok I'll go but I'm going alone."

As he walked towards the tunnel, Bendu said to Kanan, "The cave runs deep, with many twists and turns. How can he be sure where it is now…. Huh?"

Kanan took this into account. Bendu was warning him about something. Kanan extended his senses and he was immediately hit with something. Whispers. "I hear something."

"If you listen you can hear its call."

Ezra heard this and looked back at the giant. Was Bendu trying to scare him from going in alone? Ezra did hear the whispers too, faster the Kanan did, but because they were familiar to Ezra. He opened the Holocron after all. But he wasn't afraid of it. It was just knowledge. He looked at Nitza who was cocking her head towards the cave. She said, "I can't hear anything. Nope, nope, nope." Well, she was definitely not Force Sensitive. Ezra shook his head and was about to focus again when he felt his lightsaber leave the hilt. "Hey!"

"I'll hold on to this," Kanan said as the lightsaber came into his grip. Ezra tried to argue in getting his lightsaber back but Kanan wouldn't have it. He'd rather he use the comlink to communicate. Ezra gave a deep sigh and continued forward into the cave. "I'd rather use my lightsaber…" he mumbled to himself.

As Ezra disappeared into the cave, Bendu asked, "Why take his weapon?"

"He's got to learn how to solve problems without it." Kanan went to kneel down and focus on using his senses to guide Ezra.

Nitza sat down next to him and waited too. She said, "He'll be ok. Krykna are friendly, yep, yep, yep."

Kanan humored her, saying, "Oh really?"

"Hmmhmmm," she said excitedly. "I play with them all the time. Many, many, many times!"

"Hera and Sabine told me you made friends with a few of them."

"All of them are my friends. All of them." A small little gurgle was heard from behind him and suddenly he heard Nitza yell, "Print!" Kanan rubbed the side of his ear at the high pitch scream. Nitza picked up a small shelled creature. "I'm friends with all the dokma, too. Especially Print. He's my favorite. Yep, yep, yep." She put the dokma down and the little creature ran away towards Bendu. Nitza stood up and began to chase the little creature, weaving in and out of Bendu's arms and feet, laughing.

Kanan said to Bendu, "You have your work cut out for you."

Bendu chuckled lightly and said, "It's all right when it brings a little twist of fun every day or so."

Nitza's little shell friend, Print, then went scuttling away from Bendu, drawing Nitza away from him and Kanan. Finally, Kanan asked something of Bendu, "So how is it that someone like you would become responsible for someone like her?"

For a slight second, Kanan felt the calm, balanced nature around Bendu shift. It's as if he suddenly felt… imbalanced. He felt… worry? Suddenly it was gone and Bendu said in confidence. "I am not responsible for her, Kanan Jarrus. She is her own being. She makes her own choices."

"So how did she choose you?"

"Because I was the only one there when she came here."

"How did she get here?"

"I do not know."

"Hasn't she told you?"

"She can not remember."

Kanan was going to ask another question when Print suddenly ran in front of Kanan and Nitza dove to grab him, kicking up dirt. Kanan coughed and swiped the dust away as Nitza sat up and held Print. "Got him! I did, I did, I did!" she said victoriously.

Kanan finally took the time to extend his senses again and see how Ezra was doing. He was on the right path, but he was about to reach a crossroad. "Ezra, go left?" he said into the comlink.

"Left? Are you sure?"

"Trust me," his master insisted. But Ezra never responded back.

Suddenly Print became frightened and crawled up Nitza's arm to hide in the crook of her shoulder and just under her hair. "Huh, what's wrong?" Nitza asked.

Kanan suddenly felt something wrong too. Ezra! "What's happening?" he said into the communicator. No response. "Ezra? Ezra!" Kanan got up, deciding it was time to step in. He said to Bendu and Nitza, "Keep an eye on those, will you?" and he pointed at the two lightsabers he left on the ground. Then the man went into the tunnel.

* * *


	30. Holocron Help part 3

When Kanan had asked if Bendu and Nitza watch the lightsabers, Nitza looked down at them. She continued to hold Print who snuggled in her arms. When Kanan had disappeared into the tunnel, Bendu said, "Perhaps Master and Apprentice will rediscover their balance." Nitza looked up at Bendu. "Or perhaps, they will be eaten. Such is the way of things."

Nitza looked back at the tunnel entrance and said, "But they need to come back. And then they need to save their friends. They do, oh, they do."

Bendu began to lay down on the ground again. "There is a difference between want and need, Nitza. This is a want, and nature does not adhere to wants."

"These strangers are all nice. Even Ezra," Nitza insisted. She forgave the boy because Kanan said he was trying. Ezra just wanted to do good. The strangers all wanted to do good. "They don't deserve to be hurt. No, no, no. Not by the Krykna, or the Bogen." Nitza hugged Print tighter.

"Perhaps they do not deserve it but unwanted outcomes are always possible. Be prepared Nitza." Bendu knew Nitza liked to try and see the hopeful side of everything, but he had taught her that sometimes things happened that were beyond their control. With the strangers, she seemed to be forgetting that.

Nitza understood what he was talking about and said, "Ok."

Then she looked down at the Lightsabers. Putting Print down, Nitza reached out to grab one. Bendu though was watching, "Ah-Ah!"

"What?"

"That's not a toy."

"I know. They are weapons." She held up Kanan's lightsaber and looked at the design, intrigued by the unusual device.

"So put it down."

"But I won't use it—"

"Put. It. Down." Bendu said sternly.

Nitza dropped it and looked at Bendu shocked. He usually was stern but this was another level. She saw that Bendu wasn't angry at her though. He was looking at the lightsabers with hatred. She remembered Bendu telling her what lightsabers were with a tone of distaste. "Why don't you like lightsabers."

"The same reason Kanan Jarrus took his apprentice's lightsaber, it is better to solve problems without weapons. The Jedi and Sith are known to be too dependent on their lightsabers."

Nitza got up to walk to Bendu. When she stood in front of Bendu's hand. She flopped down onto it so her stomach rested on the top of his hand and her feet dangled behind her. She looked up and asked, "How long ago did you last meet wielders of Bogen and Ashla?"

"I told you, more years then you could count."

"I know, but you said you said you saw Holocrons come together before. What did you mean by that."

"Exactly what I meant?"

"How long ago?"

"Nitza…." The girl sighed, defeated that she couldn't get an answer. Bendu assured her, "It is nothing for you to worry about."

"But I just want to know."

"Everyone wants to know something these days," Bendu said with a sigh. He was getting tired of the strangers asking for advice, even if it was making life on Atollon more interesting then it had before…. Besides Nitza of course. Then there was the merging of the Holocrons, knowledge so powerful….

At that moment Bendu felt something. He looked up in the direction of the cave entrance again. It was coming from the two Jedi and it was something familiar to the Bendu. Earlier when Kanan and Ezra argued, Bendu already felt the rift between them. The Holocron didn't even need to be with them to create a wall between Master and Apprentice. They were doing that themselves. Now, Bendu felt it… the Balance. The two had come together now. Bendu smiled, and Nitza saw it. "What?"

Bendu looked at Nitza with a raised eyebrow. "Hmm?"

Nitza looked between the cave entrance and Bendu. Then she smirked, "What is it? What? What?"

Bendu chuckled and said, "The Master and the Apprentice have found balance."

"Really?" Nitza asked excited as she sat up on Bendu's hand. She looked to the cave entrance. Then she looked back at Bendu. His mood had changed from being distant about a topic to just smiling about the Jedi's achievement. That got Nitza thinking. "You wanted that. Yep, yep, yep!"

"Wanted what?"

"You say nature doesn't do anything for wants. But you wanted them to find balance."

Bendu thought about it. He slightly intended for the two Jedi to balance themselves out. After all, it had been a while since Jedi had wanted to take this route in learning about the Force. But Bendu was still a part of the Force, he could not take sides or have wants. "It was always up to them to find their balance." Nitza gave Bendu a skeptical look. "What is it?" Bendu asked.

Nitza laid back down on his hand but stretched her arms out to wrap around his thumb. Giving a big hug, she said, "You big softy. Yes you are."

Bendu grunted. "Softy? I'm a Force of nature."

Nitza didn't seem to listen to him and continued hugging his thumb. "Hmmm." Nitza just liked it to see him happy. He guessed earlier Nitza had seen him agitated. He had a right to, right? He didn't want her to know too much and wanted to protect her. And yet he wanted her to be her own person and learn because after all, she was a being. Nitza wasn't the Bendu's responsibility, that's what he told Kanan earlier.

Bendu contemplated and Nitza laid on his hand until they heard footsteps coming from the cave entrance. Nitza slid of Bendu's hand and sat on the ground to watch as Ezra and Kanan walked out. Excitement building up inside her, Nitza stood up and yelled, "They're back, they're back, they're back!"

Kanan and Ezra smiled, reacting to her excitement for them. "Your conflict has ended," Bendu began, "Perhaps balance is restored."

"Thank you Bendu," Kanan said as Ezra picked up Kanan's mask he left behind and handed it to him.

As they came walking towards the Bendu, giant new better than to leave them with strong hopes. There was still their second task which is the one Bendu dreaded more. "Your struggle has only begun," he said sternly. "Be warned." Nitza went down and picked up the two lightsabers and gave them to Ezra. He thanked her with a nod before giving Kanan his lightsaber. Bendu continued as he leaned down to face them, "The darksider will not be able to open your Jedi Holocron. That task will fall to one of you." He looked at them, slightly concerned.

Kanan felt it, but Ezra was already thinking ahead. "So that means we'll have the power of both Holocrons too." Bendu closed his eyes. Well, the boy did learn something but he was still focused on one thing important to him and not the big picture. It wasn't Bendu's job to dictate their choices.

"Do what you must." He then opened his eyes again. Two Jedi who wanted to learn balance, and everything Bendu did would shatter because of the Holocrons, so Bendu gave one last warning, "But such power comes with a price." He lifted himself up to look ahead in the distance Bendu remembered what merging Holocrons can do to a being such as the Master and Apprentice. "Once a secret is known, it cannot be unknown…". Bendu shouldn't care, it was their choice, but for a slight moment, he didn't… want it to happen…

Bendu looked down at Nitza who had come up to stand by his left hand. She had reached out to grab it but kept her eyes on the giant. Nitza felt like he wasn't only talking to the Jedi. He was talking to her. She wanted to know so much, but maybe so much was too much for a girl like her.

Kanan and Ezra looked at each oath concerned, and then Ezra looked down at the Sith Holocron he had been holding this whole time. Nitza looked at it in discomfort. Kanan and Ezra figured if a giant Force being and an innocent child did not like the idea of merging Holocrons, then the Jedi had to remember it. "We'll remember." The two then began to walk away to their speeder. Nitza watched them, step by step, and she had a sudden feeling of dread. With everything she had heard, from the merging Holocrons to the Bogen man, Maul, she just had to say something.

"Be careful!" Ezra and Kanan heard her and looked back, seeing as she had pressed herself against Bendu's hand but her eyes were on them, filled with worry. She added, "All of you? Please, please, please…." She wasn't just talking about Kanan and Ezra, she was talking about their friends too.

Ezra hated to see how scared she was, so he said, "We will."


	31. Let the Learning Commence

Hera went into the Ghost through the front ramp. She was staring down at her datapad when she felt her shoes hit something. She was thankful that her feet kept her from walking into something full force, but when Hera looked down and saw what it was, she became peeved. "Really?" She said as she put a hand on top of the crate and looked around. Three crates were left out in the middle of the cargo hold. Hera heard voices coming from the cockpit. She could distinctly hear Kanan and Ezra talking but she couldn't tell what.

Hera didn't care though, because the crates needed to be addressed. As she began to go up the ladder, the voices immediately halted. They heard her coming up. She grunted, continued to climb, but said, "What's so important that I don't need to hear?" Hera walked onto the floor and looked at Kanan and Ezra sitting across from each other on the two seats behind the ones by the window. They looked at her, Ezra with uncertainty.

Kanan was quick to say. "Nothing, what did you want to know?"

"I want to know what was so important that distracted you from sorting the crates in the cargo hold."

Ezra visibly winced and stood up, "Right, we'll go do that."

"After you tell me what you two were up to," Hera insisted. Ezra sat back down. "What's up?" Hera asked.

"We were just talking about Nitza," Ezra answered.

"Why's that?"

Ezra didn't turn his head away but his eyes did shift to Kanan. He had just said Nitza was able to understand Bendu because she grew up with him. But would the crew be able to understand his existence?

Kanan was quick to answer, "Since I hid the Holocron out in the wilderness, we bumped into her when we went to find it."

"Oh, makes sense. I guess she didn't understand what you guys were doing out there."

Ezra snorted. Well, Nitza knew more then Hera did, that's for sure. But Ezra quickly recovered by pretending to cough as Kanan said to Hera, "We did have to fill her in on what was going on." Then he frowned and said, "She was worried for you guys."

"I guess we've grown on her enough to make her worry," Hera stated, thinking how adorable the idea was. Then she asked, "What were you guys talking about?"

"Well, just what we knew about her so far," Ezra said.

"What's there to talk about? All we know is that she's been off-world because she's seen a Star Destroyer, yet she acts nervously around people like she's never seen them before."

"Maybe she doesn't remember how to approach a person" Kanan stated.

"What do you mean by remember?"

Kanan seemed to hesitate as if debating on whether to tell her or not. Then, "Well, if she only remembers bits and pieces such as a Star Destroyer, then maybe her memory of people is fuzzy. After all, when we first came she'd rather be with the spiders than with us. She's used to this place, she remembers comfort from only this." He motioned out the window to the other side of the transponder border. The forest of coral trees was quiet and bare as usual. How could this be home to Nitza?

When Hera looked out the window, she saw a figure in the distance. "As if talking about her brings her here."

Ezra looked but Kanan didn't have to. "Nitza's here," He said.

**)))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((**

Nitza had decided to check on the strangers the next day, hoping to see if Hera, Sabine, and Zeb were ok. When passed the… transponder border…. Nitza walked straight up to the familiar diamond-shaped ship. The Ghost as she heard Hera call it. Speaking of the green-skinned women, Nitza saw her with Kanan and Ezra behind the doom shape glass. They waved to her and she waved back.

Sitting at the ramp was Zeb doing… something with a huge metal item in his hand. Possibly a weapon. He had a cloth and was cleaning it, but when he looked up to see her, he stopped and said, "Hey! Nitza! What's up?" Not understanding that phrase, Nitza looked up. Zeb blinked and then gave a hearty laugh, his head going back as he held his stomach. "Hehehe, I guess I'm going to have to be a little straight forward, aren't I?" Straight forward, unlike Bendu had been these days. Nitza nodded. "All right then," Zeb said as he patted the space next to him on the ramp. Nitza came to join him. "I meant to say what brings you here?"

Nitza thought about her words carefully, then said, "Kanan and Ezra told me what happened. I wanted to see if you were all ok?"

Zeb seemed a bit surprised that she talked so much, but he didn't seem to want to make it a big deal. He said, "Well, thank you, and yeah we're all ok. Though If I had the chance I could have given Maul face full of fist or two."

Nitza raised an eyebrow, "You mean the Bogen?"

Zeb began to laugh again, saying, "Yeah I guess he is a Bogen, ahahaha!" His laugh made him pull his weapon closer to him, making Nitza slightly scoot back. Zeb stopped laughing see her reaction then he looked at his weapon. Zeb said to her, "Eh, no worries. My bo-rifle is disarmed."

"Bo-rifle…" Nitza repeated.

Seeing her interest peak, Zeb said, "Yeah, it's a weapon used only by the Honor Guards of Lasan."

"Honor Guard? Lasan? What's that?"

He seemed to hesitate but when he looked down at her, he relaxed. Nitza guessed it was because she was interested. "Well, Honor Guard were the Lasat Warriors who protected the Royal Family, and Lasan was the planet where Lasats lived mostly."

Nitza was entirely confused, so she asked first, "What's a Lasat?"

Zeb blinked. Nitza bit her lip. Was it stupid to ask that question? Was she supposed to know what Lasats were? Then Zeb said, "You're looking at one."

Nitza cocked her head and looked at him from head to toes. So that's what he was called, then that would mean… "So other people that look different are called different things?"

"Yes…" he said as if it were obvious.

"So what is Hera?"

"Twi'Lek."

"Hmmm…"

Zeb asked nervously, "Why? What do you call others that aren't… um.…"

"Aren't what?" Nitza wondered what he was talking about."

"Well, what do you call other people?"

Nitza shrugged her shoulders. "People."

Zeb gave her a genuine, "I like you, kid."

Nitza smiled. Then she wondered why he called her kid. Well, perhaps because she was a kid, a child. But there was still something that didn't make any sense. "What's Royal mean?"

"Oh boy…."


	32. Lots of Words

Nitza sat on the crate outside the ramp as Zeb and Ezra spoke with Kanan and Hera inside the big room of the Ghost. They whispered among each other but didn't seem to be in any discourse. They were done almost as fast as the began. Ezra and Zeb came down the ramp to Nitza and Ezra said, "We want to show you around. Same as last time? But with a little twist. Since you didn't seem to know what royal means—"

"I know now, yes I do, yes I do! Some who is high and runs… runs ugh… monarchy? What's a monarchy?"

"And that's why we're going to take you around," Zeb said. "So you can learn new words. Build up your…. vocabulary. Yeah, that's it."

"Oh, ok. Let's do it. Yes, yes, yes!" Nitza got of the crate excited. "Where to, where to?"

Zeb and Ezra looked at each other, surprised, maybe at her reaction, then Zeb said, "Well, we'll start around here, and then go up to the rest of Chopper Base."

"Chopper Base?"

"Chopper Base is the name of this place."

"No it's not," Nitza said. "It's High Trees."

"High Trees?" Ezra repeated.

"Yep…" She pointed up to the Coral Trees and their leaves above them. "Tallest around. So we call them High Trees."

"We?" Zeb asked.

Ezra interjected, "As in the one who takes care of you." Nitza nodded, noting Ezra didn't want her mentioning the Bendu. "Well then, I guess we'll also be learning new words. High Trees is Chopper Base…"

"Chopper Base is High Trees…" Nitza corrected. "Where do we go?"

"Wherever you want."

Nitza looked around before heading towards a small ship nearby the Ghost. She ran up to it as Zeb and Ezra followed behind. Nitza got to it and pointed at it, "Hera calls it…. a wing."

"Yes, that's what those are.

"Why call it a wing?"

"Well, it's short for its long name. Hard to pronounce, so we just call it A-Wing."

"So you do call it a wing."

"Yeah, A-Wings."

"A wing?"

Zeb suddenly got it and started laughing as Ezra asked confused. "Oh, what are you laughing about?"

Zeb continued chuckling but managed to say, "She thinks your just calling it ….. a…. wing…."

"Oooh," Ezra said. "Well, I guess we can just spell it out for her."

"If she knows how to read and write," Zeb added. Suddenly he stopped laughing and he and Ezra looked at each other nervous, then looked down at Nitza. She was just watching them the whole time since Zeb began to laugh. "Um," Ezra began, "Do you know how to read and write?" She thought about it, then shook her head. "Do you know what reading and writing are?" Nitza shook her head no.

"I guess we'll have to go over Aurebesh at some time," Zeb said, "Right now just words. What else do you want to know, Nitza."

Nitza looked around and went back to the crates in front of the ship. She pointed at it and said, "Sabine calls this crate."

When Zeb and Ezra got to her, Zeb said, "Yep," Then he pulled off the lid. "And inside we got—" He blinked and said to Ezra, "We're you supposed to bring this up with Kanan—"

"Yeah, yeah, Hera gave the lecture," Ezra said, trying to bypass answering Zeb's question. Ezra reached in and pulled out a small rectangle shape colored yellow with black random striped. He said to Nitza, "These are credits. We use them to buy things with."

"Buy?"

"It's like you use this to trade, but's buying because you're not swapping between two different materials, you're just giving credits in exchange for materials."

"Ok…" Nitza said, slightly getting it. "What do you get in return?"

"Food and supplies usually. Rarely we do buy weapons but we're not a ground force so it's mostly food and supplies."

"Where do you get them?"

"Everywhere. We used to get a lot from Lothal but we just get them wherever we can now."

"Lothal?"

"It's my home planet."

Nitza's eyes widened, "Another planet!"

Zeb chuckled and said, "Of course it is. What, did you think Atollon was the only planet?"

Ezra bit his lip. Kanan told him that Bendu only knew what Nitza knew…. Because she couldn't remember where she came from. Maybe her memory of what planets were out there was limited. Nitza began slowly, "I do know there are more, but I do not know what."

"How come? I mean, you know what planet you came from at least, right?"

Nitza closed her eyes and thought planets… just planets…. Maybe that will bring something to mind. But nothing. No memory sparked it. "No…"

Zeb's eyes slightly dropped. Nitza didn't like his reaction and quickly tried to change the subject. She looked at Ezra and said, "Do you remember Lothal?"

Zeb smiled, as if he knew what Ezra would say and what he would say would be enjoyable. Ezra explained, "Of course."

"What's it like? What, what?"

"Well, it's mostly a planet of plains, but there are lakes."

"Lakes? Plains?"

"Lakes are like a giant puddle as big as… as big as a large forest of coral trees. But the puddle is deep, as deep as the caves of the spider."

"Wow!"

"And Plains are made of grass. Grass is like… well, it grows out of the ground. They either grow no taller than your foot or as high as your knees, and they're very leafy."

"Leafy like leaves!" Nitza pointed excitedly up again to the giant leaves that made up Chopper Base.

"Eh…. Think very very thin."

"Then they must break easily. Yep, yep, yep."

"Eheheh." Zeb chuckled.


	33. Coming Back

Bendu had come back from going out on a stroll. He liked to do it as the sun set on Atollon, but he had been used to doing it with Nitza so much, it felt odd that her presence wasn't there. Nitza was out with the strangers.

Bendu was somewhat happy. After all, she was learning. But the problem Bendu had was what she would potentially learn. Then there was that other feeling.

His thoughts were interrupted when he came back to the Pit and found Nitza sitting cross-legged on the ground. She was talking to some dokma who crowded around her as she drew in the dirt on the ground. "And see? See? And these are trees that grow leaves." Bendu smiled, happy to see her excited over… something. "They are very leafy like grass but flat and big and—oh Bendu!" She yelled as she waved at him.

As he lumbered into the Pit, Bendu said, "I see you're back early."

"I tried to come for sunset walk. I was too slow, too, too, slow."

"Next time then," Bendu assured. He came up to stand behind the dokma and asked. "So, you seem excited.

"Yep, yep, yep! I learn lots of things. You told me what kind of worlds were out there. Like Icy Planets and Sandy Planet"

"Ice and Desert" Bendu corrected.

"… but the strangers have pictures of planets on hola… holo… holograms I think it was called. I think, I think."

"Oh, so that's why you are drawing them…" he looked down at the images she drew of a forest on the ground.

"I know what they look like now, I do, I do!" Nitza continued to draw. "And there are more! There are some that look like they are on fire!"

"So you learned only environments?"

"And holograms. They said I can learn more about it but I need to read."

"Oh, so they are going to teach you Auerbesh then?"

"Yep, that's what they said. They also said I would learn other things, but I knew I had to come back."

"Why did you have to come back?"

"I was gone all day."

"Not all day."

"Ok, ok, not all day. Not all day. But that's it. That's why I came back. I wanted to see you. I didn't want you all lonely."

Bendu gave her a genuine smile, appreciating how considerate she was. She still cared for him. Suddenly, Bendu frowned when he felt those feelings from earlier again but this time they were extinguished quickly by something else, something satisfying. He knew what it was but he had no intention to think about it. Another way to describe it was that the odd feeling from earlier when Nitza wasn't around was gone and was replaced by something familiar. He was happy that was all he could say,

Nitza saw him stare off into the distance and she asked, "Bendu? Are you ok? Are you, are you?"

"I am," He responded. Nitza got up from sitting down and went up to Bendu so that she could climb up his arm. "What are you doing?" Bendu asked now looking at Nitza as she went up his arm, onto his shoulders so that she could climb up to his head. She laid down on her stomach and looked over his brow to see his eyes. "You're ok…" She said.

Bendu smiled and grunted, some air from his nostrils blowing Nitza's hair back a little. She giggled, making Bendu chuckle.


	34. Dorn is for Droid

Sabine was with Nitza a couple of days later teaching the girl to write. They sat on two smaller crates while two big ones acted as tables. The Ghost next to them provided shade from the early morning sun. On the crates was a datapad with a blank page while Nitza held the pen that came with it.

"So, you got this one, Cresh, which looks like this and sounds like…" Sabine faltered when she noticed Nitza was distracted by trying to draw on her hand. This was the fifth time she's been distracted by the technology of a datapad and they've only gotten to the third letter of the alphabet. Sabine smirked and said, "Eham."

"How does black not go on my hand but on the pad?" Nitza drew a black line across the blank page and then tried drawing on herself.

"Because black doesn't really come out of the pen. The datapad senses where you draw. But we're not drawing, we're writing." She slid the screen to the side and showed Nitza the letter. "Ok, Cresh, can you say that."

"Cresh,"

"And It sounds like 'KK' sound. Now write it out." Nitza wrote the letter big on the blank part of the screen. "I did it! I did, I did!"

"Yes, you did."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Sabine smiled, just happy that Nitza was excited and more happy that Nitza got back on track again. "Next is Dorn. Sounds like 'Duh' and you write it like—" Sabine noticed Nitza staring across from the table. "Now what?" Sabin grumbled. Looking up, Sabine's scowl turned into a smile. Chopper and his pal AP-5 were coming on over towards the Ghost. "It's ok, that's just Chopper and AP-5. I can't believe you haven't met them yet. They're part of our crew." As the two droids stood in front of crates, Chopper made a couple of gurgling sounds. Sabine said to him, "Yes, you are the most valuable part."

Ap-5 said to Chopper, "You may have been here longer than I am but I do have the credentials that pass you by much farther." Chopper returned the retort with a couple of negative sounds. Ap-5 "That's not true, you had—"

"Really? Now?" Sabine asked as she pointed to Nitza to emphasize the time to bicker was over.

"Captain Syndulla did say you would be busy with teaching the girl. She told me to tell you if you could find time to go to the common area to give your latest report on the latest convoy."

"Oh, right," Sabine said embarrassed, then noticed Nitza was still staring at them, mouth agape. Sabine said to the droids, "Hey come over here for a second." She motioned to their side of the crates. As the two droids came around, Nitza suddenly scooted back against Sabine's side, afraid. "Woah, Woah, easy, Nitza. They're harmless, I promise." Sabine put a hand on the girl's shoulder to assure her.

"I, perhaps, would be," Ap-5 said. "I can't say the same for Chopper." Chopper made some gurgling sounds. Ap-5 responded. "Please, I've asked around and your body count is still higher than any known being around here."

Nitza looked astounded and said shyly to Ap-5, "You- you can understand him?" she looked at Chopper.

Ap-5 said, "I wish I didn't."

Sabine quickly cut in, "What Ap-5 means to say is that he does know."

"Is it because you're droids? Is it? Is it?"

Sabine answered, "Being droids is one reason. But I understand him, too. It's just a whole other language—hey wait a minute. You said droid. We never taught you that."

"When I was sneaking around I heard people call them that."

"Oh…" Sabine tapped her fingers against the crate. For a slight second, she hoped Nitza was remembering something, but it wasn't.

Nitza laughed as Chopper continued to say things and Ap-5 would say something in return. Nitza said, "You guys are funny. I like you."


	35. What They Do

A few days after her first writing lesson, Nitza walked through the transponder fence nonchalantly as she went into the familiar space. Oddly enough though, the space seemed less familiar with the absence of a certain ship. "Where is Ghost?" Nitza asked. Nitza looked around, seeing no one else was around. Nitza hummed to herself, thinking where else it could have gone. She looked up at the sky, imagining planets of all kinds beyond Atollon. "Maybe they are out there, yep, yep, yep."

Then she frowned and looked down. They had gone out, again. She saw many ships come and go from the sky, but the Ghost had Hera, Kanan, and everyone else she had come to know. She started to like seeing them. And ever since she started learning new words two weeks ago, she would come back to this spot every day. But almost every day the ship would be gone. The only time she managed to bump into them since was her writing lesson. That was five days ago.

Nitza sighed. They seemed busy. Nitza looked up again. She could go up and see if there was anyone else she could learn from, but she wasn't used to those people. She didn't know how they would act. Nitza told herself she would go back again tomorrow, just like almost every day.

The next day, the sun was beginning to set and Nitza was on top of Bendu's head as they took the sunset stroll. She enjoyed it as much as Bendu, but there was still a feeling of loneliness. She sighed. Bendu heard this as he lumbered on and said, "I'm sure they will be back, Nitza. They live here now."

"I know, but when? When? When?" Nitza rolled on her back and looked at the fading bright sky.

"Patience, Nitza."

"Ok, ok. Where do you think they go? To all those different planets like ice or jungle?"

"Perhaps."

"What do they do? Do you know?"

Bendu didn't stop walking but his eyes did dart in the direction of High Trees. Hidden beyond the line of the coral forest. Bendu grumbled. He had an idea after connecting with Kanan. They were fighters, they were all fighting for something. Perhaps it was the growing darkness that engulfed most of the light more than fifteen years ago. Maybe this Darth Maul was involved, or perhaps not. Whatever it was, it was a war of some kind. Maybe not the same one as before that war or even like the one before that. But in the end, it was a battle of two sides, not a coexistence, and Bendu hated it. It wasn't his choice for Nitza to get involved or not, but he warned her, "Nitza, what they do is their business and their business alone. If you must ask, you may. Only when the time is right."

"How will I know?"

"You'll know."

"Ugh, Bendu…"

Out of instinct he chuckled and said, "Young beings, so eager to know."

"You said I should know. You said, you said…"

"I did say you should learn, but patience."

"Ugh…"

Bendu chuckled again.

When they got back to the pit, Nitza jumped off of Bendu and landed on her leaf near the hollow. Then she climbed up the trunk and to the very top. The last leaflet was her place to look out to High Trees far away ever since she the strangers had come. She could see some things like their bigger ships but smaller like the Ghost and people were hard to see in detail. That's why she always snuck around the first time.

Bendu saw her looking and said, "Go on."

"What if they're not there?"

"What if they are?" Bendu asked, assuring her. Nitza smiled. Bendu said, "Go before it gets too dark."

Nitza ran the whole way towards high tress. As she got closer, more details could be seen, one feature she liked in particular. "Ghost is back! It's back, it's back!" She saw the ship sat not on the base of High Trees but on the third level. The one they called the Main Control Area. Getting to High Trees, Nitza ran up the stairs, trying to avoid people and droids as best she could. When she got to the third level, she spotted Hera and Zeb with a couple of other people in headgear. They all surrounded a round shape table that had hologram images displayed on top. Nitza approached slowly, seeing them all talking to one another.

"The second attempt should have been done by now but there have been no calls yet," Said a random man.

"Thank you. You're all dismissed," Hera said. Everyone but Zeb left the table. Some spotted Nitza but they had no time to address the girl as she ran to Zeb and Hera.

"Hey, Nitza, what's up?" Zeb asked.

She said, "I'm good! Yep, yep, yep." She said. Then she came up between them and said, "You were all gone a very long time. Long, long, long time." Hera smiled at her words, putting a hand on the young girl's shoulder.

"Trust me, kid, this was one of the shortest missions we've had in a while," Zeb said. "This was anything but long."

"Missions? What's that?"

Hera pursed her lips, trying to think on how to explain a mission as easily as possible. "It's like a job, or a task. Just a little more intense."

"Why intense?"

"There is a great risk behind it."

"Is it scary?"

Hera's eyes darted once away from Nitza, trying to hide some sort of visual emotion from the girl. "It can be, yes."

Nitza became worried by the answer and how Hera acted. "You do it all the time? How do you know you will be ok?"

"We…" Hera began.

Zeb then stepped in, "We don't know but that's not the point. The real goal is to finish the mission, make sure everything goes as planned."

"What happens if it doesn't?"

"We try and try again. The Empire can't stop us."

At the word Empire, Nitza looked down, her eyebrow raised and her feet tapping the ground as she began to think. Empire, Empire…. Nitza remembered her father saying how great the Empire was…. But these people make them sound bad. Bendu said she would figure out what this Rebellion is about but in time. Was this the time to ask?

Seeing Nitza suddenly go quiet, Hera took a knee and looked at Nitza in the eye, asking, "Nitza, do you remember the other day when we gave you the tour. I asked you what ships you had seen and you showed me a triangle shape. Do you remember the name?"

Nitza shook her head. Zeb looked at Hera, wondering what she was doing. "Ok, well do you know…" Hera hesitated for a little bit. Then she said, "Do you know what the Empire—"

"Captain Syndulla!" Hera stood up and Zeb looked to see a man in headgear and another, the one Nitza heard everyone call Sato, come towards them. Sato said, "We have just received word. The second extraction was a success."

On cue, a giant boom was heard in the sky and Nitza looked up with the others. A ship that was nothing but a dot in the distance became bigger as it flew closer and closer to High Trees. The ship was one of the biggest ones around and had, exactly like the one she woke up in after she was rescued from the flood. Remembering how scary it was to wake up in n unfamiliar place, Nitza reached out and grabbed Zeb by the hand. The Lasat said, "Don't worry kid, that's one of ours." As that one started to land on the leaf level above them, a smaller ship detached from the bottom and came down to their level. It was small with curved wings on each side, looking big enough to fit only a few people. It landed just next to the Ghost not far from where the Control Area was. Zeb and Hera looked at each other, Hera saying, "That's not one of ours."

Nervously Zeb and Hera hurried over to the ship, Sato and the one whit the headgear following behind. Nitza didn't know what to do but follow behind them. Seeing they were nervous, Nitza decided she would get close enough but far away to see and bee safe. She hid behind the Ghost and peaked out.

Suddenly coming out of the ship was Ezra, Kanan, and Chopper. They were followed by two young human men with Caucasian skin who were dressed in black and were around Sabine's age. And then there was…. Sabine herself? Nitza almost didn't recognize her if it wasn't for the short hair, golden-brown skin, and hazel eyes. But Sabine not only wore black like the two young men, but she also had her hair color a dark brown. Was she somehow able to make it change color? Nitza was going to run over and ask, but she decided to stay hidden, especially since she didn't know who half the people were there.

When the two groups met, Sabine said out loud, "Commander Sato, allow me to present lieutenants Wedge Antilles and ….. Hobbie, formally of the Galactic Empire."

There it was again, and formerly. These two were from the Empire? The one her dad always said was great. The one this Rebellion seemed to be against? Nitza couldn't hear much else of what was said between the two groups until Sato said, "Welcome to the Rebellion," putting a straight hand over his head. Nitza wondered, was this some sort of greeting?

Sabine and the two men, Wedge and Hobbie returned the gesture with the same motion. When they were done, the groups merged and began to walk back to the Main Control Area. She heard Wedge say, "Man, I haven't been in a fresh breeze for a long time."

"Come on, Wedge," Hobbie said, "We haven't been near fresh anything in a long time." Nitza smiled. She liked when people talked nicely about Atollon. It was a great place to be.

"A shame the Empire doesn't like Natural," Sabine joked.

"Unless to use it up for themselves, then that's a different story."

This seemed to be a joke because the whole group laughed, but as they walked by the Ghost, Nitza didn't go up to join them. This joke, about the Empire sounding horrible…. The fact it was probably because of that that these young men left the Empire…. The fact that it sounded like this Empire used the environments and used up the land and not share…. It all sounded so confusing.

For the first time since she became friends with these people, she felt afraid, and not for her life. She just felt afraid that they wouldn't like her. Her dad was part of this Empire… that means Nitza was too. Was she…. A bad person? Would they like her of they found out?

Afraid of the idea, Nitza ran.

Zeb heard the sound of feet running and fading away so he looked in the direction. He spotted Nitza going down the man-made stairs around the trunk of the tree and disappearing for a long while.


	36. Am I Bad

Bendu woke to the sound of scratching on walls. It was a familiar sound to him. He heard it a lot every once in a while, it comes and goes whenever Nitza was feeling like drawing.

Bendu opened his eyes to the mornings light and raised his head. He looked up towards the leaflet just outside of Nitza's hollow. Standing up, he looked level with the leaf and picked into the hollow. He saw Nitza's back as she carved into the walls of her hollow with a sharp rock. Bendu thought she had run out of room to carve into the wall. But then again, the hollow was tall enough for her to stand inside even if the entrance was shorter.

Bendu asked, "What's new on your walls today?"

Nitza looked back and smiled. She then got on her knees and crawled out the hollow to say, "I made drawings of all the kinds of planets that are out there and—and other stuff like the letters of the alphabet. Letters, and letters and letters!"

"All that you have been learning so far?"

"Hmmhmmm, and I have a special place for all of it, yep, yep, yep!"

"I hope you have more room for your… future lessons."

"Um…" Nitza said, frowning. She sat down on the leaflet outside her hollow and said, "I don't know if I should go again. No, no, no…"

"You have been saying that for the past couple of days. What happened to the excitement?"

"It is exciting but…."

"But?"

Nitza didn't know if she should tell Bendu what was troubling her, but then she realized… Bendu would understand. She worried he would judge her, but how could he if he already knew where she had come from? Nitza said, "I remember my daddy…. He said he was doing good things, good, good thing because he was from something called Empire. But these strangers are part of this Rebellion thing. They are nice, very, very nice and sound like they go against bad people. But they go against bad things this Empire is doing."

"You're asking me if this Empire is truly bad or good? Is this Rebellion bad or good?"

Nitza shook her head. Sure that was another question but one that she would have to figure out in time just like Bendu had said. It was the stranger's business after all. Nitza asked, "Was my daddy bad because he did things for the Empire?"

Bendu knew right away what she was getting at. She felt like a bad person herself. Bendu wanted to tell her right away that she wasn't a bad person. She never harmed a single creature and just wanted to learn what was around her. But Bendu knew that wasn't completely true. Anyone, no matter how good, was capable of doing bad. For instance, Nitza is kind and curious, but her nature makes her one to disobey. And he really couldn't answer her question about the Empire and the Rebellion, especially since he didn't know much about them to give her an answer. So he asked, "Do you remember your parents doing bad things?"

"I never thought them bad. No, no. My daddy never hurt anyone, not even my mom. We just moved around… I can't remember why…"

"Hmm, then perhaps they were not entirely bad."

"But not entir—ener- enir…. Not all good…." Nitza tried to say without stumbling.

Bendu tried to think of how to make Nitza feel better, but not going against his own ideals. Then he remembered and said with a smile, "It's possible he did not know he was doing bad, do you think?"

"I don't know…"

Bendu frowned. Beings seemed to always be upset at the idea of someone doing badly. Not that Bendu didn't understand, he did. But even if there was a way of balance, the bad always outweighed the good for beings. And Bendu couldn't' do anything about it, especially with Nitza. "Think about this…" Bendu added, "Does your father make you… you?"

"I…." Nitza raised an eyebrow. "Huh… I never thought that before… no, no, no…"

"Well there you go," Bendu finished, feeling a little accomplished for getting Nitza to stop thinking herself so badly.

Later that day, Nitza went to High Trees, seeing the Ghost back in its regular spot on the ground below the leaves of the coral mesa above. When she walked up to the Ghost, she saw no one at first, that is until she heard someone coming down the ladder structure inside the ship's main entrance room. He saw Nitza and said excitedly, "Kid, you're back!"

Nitza's eyes shifted back and forth nervously. So far, he was good to see her, so maybe everybody was still happy to see her… unless they found out? Zeb came up to her, down the ramp of the ship, and then kneeled down eye level with her. "You ran away so fast the other day, we didn't get a chance to say goodbye."

Nitza felt bad and stammered, "So-sorry."

"No, that's ok. Just wondering what got you running. Is everything ok?" Nitza held her hand behind her back, rolled on the balls of her ankles, and nodded while biting her lip. Zeb scratched his chin seeing something was off. He asked, "Does it have to do with those new boys who came in that day?"

Nitza didn't know how to answer. No, because she didn't know those boys. And yet, maybe yes, because they were from this Empire originally. Nitza could just say it, say it now. Tell them. Her father came from this Empire. Get this built up of guilt out of her…. But she couldn't. Why was it so hard? Nitza shrugged, giving Zeb that answer.

Seeing she wasn't ready to talk, Zeb stood up and said, "Ok, well, you came back. It looks like whatever it is it's not bothering you anymore. So, what do you want to do?"

At the sound of the question, Nitza quickly forgot about her troubles. She squealed, "Learn, learn, learn!"

"Ok, ok…" Zeb insisted as he held his hands out to motion her to calm down. Then he asked, "What do you want to learn?"

"More environments! More, more, more!

"Oh, great…" Zeb said, sarcastically.


	37. Meeting the Boys

Nitza went back to High Trees again two days later and luckily again the Ghost was there, the same spot underneath the High Trees. Nitza went over and saw no one, then continued onward. She could probably find them in the upper level—oh oh!

Nitza spotted the two young men who had come with Sabine the other day. Wedge Antilles and Hobbie, if memory served Nitza correctly. Nitza quickly darted behind something. A crate to her luck. Peeking out from around the edge, Nitza saw them now more up close than the days before. They were on a small ship, and A-wing. Hobbie, the bright-haired one, was sitting in the seat looking at the display of buttons. Wedge, the dark-haired one, was sitting on the right-wing next to Hobbie and feeding him information from the small datapad in his hands. Wanting to get a closer look, Nitza crawled on all fours towards the ship they were on a ducked under. She heard Wedge say, "Check if the meter works now."

"Might have to get the A-wing running to do that?" Replied Hobbie.

"Should we ask if we can start it up on our own."

Nitza took the chance and slowly peeked her head from below the wing Wedge was sitting on. She noticed now that instead of the black-suited they came with a few days ago, they wore the same suits everyone that flew a small ship wore. She watched intently, maybe trying to get some sort of information out of them by just looking. Maybe they knew her father? Looking at them wouldn't get her that far. She would have to ask, but would she ask?

Nitza didn't notice they had spotted her, until Wedge said, "Hey?" and she saw him look straight at her. Hide, hide, hide! Nitza ducked underneath the wing and heard Wedge say, "Hobbie did you see that?"

"See what?"

"Someone. A little girl."

"A little girl? You're joking."

Wedge's head suddenly came down to hang upside down and look at Nitza. The girl gasped and fell back on her back, scooting away. Wedge said, "No way, I'm not joking, look."

A few moments later, Hobbie's head joined Wedge's to hang upside down and spot Nitza. "What the—" Hobbie began.

"That's a beautiful view, by the way!" Came a familiar voice. Nitza smiled in relief. Looking back, she saw Sabine coming with Ezra up toward the A-wing. Hobbie and Wedge's faces turned bright red, realizing by looking upside down to Nitza, they had to lean over making their bottoms face Sabine or whoever came from her direction. As the two young men stood up on the wing and turned to look at Sabine and Ezra, Nitza scrambled out from underneath the ship.

Shocked, Ezra and Sabine watched the girl run into Sabine as Ezra exclaimed, "Nitza?" The girl maneuvered around Sabine so like she had done with Kanan before, she hid behind Sabine and pressed herself against the girl's back.

"She just showed up," Wedge explained, "You know her?"

"She's a local," Ezra explained.

"I thought you said this place was uninhabited," Hobbie stated.

"We're still trying to figure that out ourselves," Sabine said as she had Nitza grab her by the hand and pulled the girl with her and Ezra towards the wing. Wedge and Hobbie sat down on the edge of the wing as Sabine finished, "We just know that she lives around here with someone else but has seen ships before we came along."

"So she's not from here originally," Wedge stated, "Makes sense."

"Guys, this is Nitza." Sabine leaned down to be eye level with Nitza and said, "Nitza, these are our new pilots. Wedge and Hobbie."

Nitza had down nothing but stared at the young men the whole time until Nitza heard Sabine introduce them. "I hear that word a lot. Yep, yep, yep. What does a pilot do?"

Hobbie snickered, "She doesn't know what a pilot—" Wedge quickly elbowed Hobbie in the ribs as Sabine had stared them both down.

Ezra explained, "She's learning as we go." Then he said to Nitza. "Wedge and Hobbie fly ships like the A-Wing here. Hera's a pilot, too."

"She is? But she doesn't wear the same clothes as Hobbie or Wedge. No, no, no…"

"She doesn't have to. She's a Captain."

"A Captain? What's that?"

"We can talk about that later. Think about it like this. If Wedge and Hobbie screw up on something, they have to answer to Hera."

"You're savage, Sabine," Wedge commented.

Sabine smiled, ignoring the young men and reaching down and lift Nitza up from under her arms. She put Nitza on the A-wing next to Wedge and then she and Ezra took their spot on Nitza's other side. Nitza felt the surface of the ship underneath her hands and feet and looked around. Metal, just like always. But now that she was up close, she noticed the details and wanted to know what they were. She asked Wedge, "How do you fly it?"

Wedge was a little surprised she was talking to her now but didn't complain. He pointed to the dip where the seat was in front of the display full of buttons. "That's the cockpit, we sit in there and work through the control panel."

"Cockpit…" Nitza repeated, "Control Panel."

"Since you're learning," Hobbie began, "Should make sure you know one thing. Never stand behind a ship that just landed." The bright-haired boy pointed to the back of the ship where the round features were. "Those are the engines, and they can get really hot. When we land they are just starting to cool down, but not fast enough. Touch it and you'll burn your hand. Always give it an hour or so before you walk around a ship."

"Ok, I get it. I do, I do!" Nitza exclaimed. She stood up and went to walk on the ship, going from the cockpit to near the engines.

))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron (((((((((((((

Sabine said, "Thanks, Hobbie, we didn't even think of teaching her that, especially with the fact she likes to come here at random times so we're usually not there to watch her."

"So she just walks in whenever?"

"Yep."

"And she comes to your crew, by the looks of it," Wedge observed. "Are you guys like, responsible for her?"

"Not officially," Ezra answered, "But she ends up coming to us so we kind of does watch her."

"Do you know where she's from at least."

Sabine shook her head, and then Ezra added, ". She can't remember."

"Really?" Sabine asked surprised. "Who told you that?"

Ezra clenched his teeth. He was supposed to keep that part a secret. "Kanan." Was all he could say.

"And who told Kanan?"

"Ugh…." Ezra bit his lip. He couldn't' say the Bendu. They wouldn't be able to understand. "Nitza did."

"Well just our luck," Sabine huffed. "We've been trying to figure out how she got here but if she can't remember where she's from, she might not know anything about when she was…." Sabine suddenly felt someone brush the back fo here hair. She whipped around to see Nitza. The girl got spooked at the sudden turn and fell on her bottom with a loud "Oof!"

"You ok?" Ezra asked.

Nitza nodded and went to sit next to Sabine and Wedge again. She then asked, "I saw you had brown hair once. How does it change color?"

"Oh—"

Ezra snickered, "Change color." Now Sabine was glaring at him. Then Sabine answered Nitza sweetly, "I color it myself."

"You paint your hair?" Nitza exclaimed flabbergasted.

"Paint is… well… that's the simple way to answer."

"Can I try?! Please, please, please!" Nitza's eyes got so big, it almost hurt for Sabine to look.

"Ooh, well… I would say it's ok but…. It would mean going inside the ship."

"No!" Nitza exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Sabine. "No, go in, no go in."

"Hey, it's ok. In time, all right."

"Is she claustrophobic?" Hobbie asked.

"No, she just really doesn't like going in ships," Ezra answered.

"We're working on it."

* * *


	38. Armor Hides More then Skin

Nitza skipped passed the transponder border, seeing everyone from the Ghost gathered outside, even Chopper. She smiled seeing them all talking as they all were starting to walk into the Ghost. She ran to them before they could go any farther. "Wait! Wait!" Nitza called.

Hearing her, everyone turned to watch as she skidded to a halt in front of them. "What we gonna do today?"

"What are we going to do?" Ezra began. "We're going into check- oh- you mean what are we going to learn." Ezra suddenly realized.

"It's been two months," Sabine said to him. "Keep up."

Everyone a few moments later were sitting on crates that formed a circle around a space. By then, they figured out what Nitza was going to learn that day. Seeing Sabine next to her and holding her colorful headgear in hand, Nitza had to ask. "Why do you also paint your colorful stuff like you do your hair?"

"Stuff?" Sabine repeated.

"Hehehe..." Zeb chuckled, then said from across the girls, "That stuff is called armor."

"What's that?"

Ezra, from the other side of Sabine, explained, "Armor is like clothing that protects you from harm."

"Oooh, hmmm." Nitza pondered, then put two and two together. "So it helps in those missions you do? Does it, does it?"

"Sure does."

Sabine then began to point out the different parts of her armor. "And this is the shoulder blade."

"Why do you need so much?"

"To protect you from a fight, youngin'," answered a familiar voice behind her and Sabine.

The girl was so spooked, she jumped at least three feet off her seat and when she came down she missed and fell on her back to the floor. Everyone winced and got up to assist her. Hera and Sabine were quicker. As they helped her stand, Nitza looked at the owner of the familiar voice. "Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you," said the one called Rex. The one she remembered describing to Bendu as heavily clothed. Now she knew it was just a large amount of armor, the most she had seen anyone wear so far. "That's a lot of armor," Nitza said allowed, astounded.

Everyone laughed at her reaction, even Rex. After Hera was done dusting Nitza off, the Twi'Lek said to Rex, "Good to see you. You haven't been around for a while." "Sato had me off-world until now." Rex came around the crates to go and stand in front of everyone. "We've been scoping out old Clone Wars sites for any leftovers. He told me to bring you all along for my next run." Nitza noticed that as he spoke, he seemed sort of repressed. It almost reminded Nitza of when Bendu hid his feelings about a topic he didn't like. What was this... Clone Wars?

Kanan must have felt something off too because he quickly changed the subject. He came and stood next to Nitza, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I don't think you've met Nitza yet."

Rec smiled. "Ahhh, you're little Nitza. Heard a lot about you. I would have come and said hello sooner but hadn't had the chance."

Not wanting him to worry, Nitza said, "It's ok, Rex."

The crew of the Ghost looked at each other shocked. Rex noticed and asked, "What?"

"We didn't tell her your name," Kanan explained.

Hera bent down and asked, "How did you know Rex's name?"

"I heard Ahsoka call him Rex." At that, everyone became both shocked and somber at the same time. In reaction, Rex stood up, face becoming blank. Nitza didn't notice though because she was busy feeling bad for another reason. "Oh, no, no, no! I'm a dummy! I haven't gone looking for Ahsoka in a long time. Long, long time! I've been wanting to see her again. Yep, yep, yep!"

Sabine seemed to be the only one who was able to get past the sadness that everyone felt and managed to ask the most obvious question. "Ho-how did you know Ahsoka?"

Nitza smiled and went past Rex to climb on top of the crates. She stood and pointed out to a certain spot in the forest of coral trees close by. "She went beyond your border when you first came to Atollon. She said hi and I..." Nitza faltered and said in a solemn tone, "I was afraid and ran, even when she was nice." Nitza shook her head, bringing herself back to a happy state to say, "So I want to say hi now." Nitza climbed back down to stand on the ground. "Can we go find her?" She finally noticed how depressed everyone suddenly became. She noticed Ezra had gone to sit back down on his crate, looking down at the floor while his fingers dug into the side of the metal box. Rex had crossed his arms and looked away from her. "What's wrong?" Nitza asked.

Hera came to kneel in front of her. "Nitza, honey... um." Hera bit her lip, trying to figure out how to form words. "She's not here anymore."

"Oh... is she on another planet?"

Hera shook her head. "No, what I mean to say is that she's gone... meaning..."

Nitza's face fell and she looked at the ground, right at her bare toes. Nitza closed her eyes and remembered. She remembered when she herself used the word gone like that. It felt like so many years ago, and she could barely remember. But there was the sound, the sound of metal burning. Nitza opened her eyes. "She's dead, isn't she?"

Once again, everyone was shocked. Rex and Ezra looked back at her, trying to understand how she figured it out so easily when Hera was just starting to explain. Nitza noticed everyone react, and so she knew she had explained. Nitza chose her words carefully. She couldn't talk about her experience of her parent's death. Fortunately, or not so, fortunately, she had experienced death in other ways. Nitza looked on and said, "I make friends with many animals on Atollon, but some I don't see anymore. Be- The one who takes care of me once said that it's ok to die because it's a part of life. Yep, yep, yep." Nitza then turned to look up at Rex. "It's ok to be sad about it, too. But Ahsoka wouldn't want us to be sad all the time." Then Nitza scrunched her face in thought. "At least I don't think so. I never got to know her. Would she?"

Wanting to ease Nitza's worries, Rex bent down eye level with Nitza and gave a sincere smile. "No. She would definitely want us to be happy." He first let his hand rest on the girl's head, then tussled her hair. Nitza giggled, pulling away.

Nitza decided it was best to leave the crew to their thoughts, seeing how they had all reacted so emotionally about Ahsoka.

As she walked passed the transponder border, Kanan and Rex stood by each other, Rex watching the girl go. Rex said, "That little girl, she's something else." Kanan nodded in agreement. Then Rex frowned and said, "Ahsoka never told me about her."

"I don't think she ever told anyone," Kanan said.

"Why wouldn't she?" Rex pondered.

Kanan looked in a general direction, far beyond the forest….Were the Pit was…. Where Bendu was.


	39. About Ahsoka

Nitza drew on the dirt ground of the Pit as she laid belly down to the floor. She had been drawing random images such as lands from beyond the stars and now, even armor. Her imagination went wild as she drew up crazy ones, ones that looked too big for her stick figures to wear. She giggled.

A large shadow suddenly loomed over her from behind and she heard a booming voice. "And what is it you find hilarious today?"

Nitza smiled and turned around so that she was laying down, back to the ground, and facing up to Bendu over her. She said, "I learned about armor. I'm making my own up."

Bendu raised an eyebrow, not sounding impressed by the fact she learned about armor. But he made no say in the matter. Instead, he looked at what she was drawing. There was armor and other images. One caught his eye. "What's that one?" He motioned with a big finger at a drawing just above Nitza's head. Nitza sat up and turned around, her back to Bendu as she looked at the picture he had pointed too. A face with no face features but with distinct horns and tails that went down the side of their face. It was stripped. "Oh, that's Ahsoka."

Bendu nodded in understanding, which surprised Nitza a bit because he didn't ask who that was. "And why her?" Bendu asked.

"I found out that she's…." Nitza faltered as she turned back to face Bendu. A sad look was on her face as she rested her elbows on her knees so that her hands could hold up her head as she stared off longingly. "Yesterday I asked about her. Hera said she was gone. Everyone was sad. I figured it out."

Bendu sighed, feeling the wave of remorse and sadness coming off of the young girl below him. "Nitza, I have told you…"

"I know. It's a part of life."

"So, you found out more about the former Jedi?"

"Ahsoka was a Jedi?" Nitza exclaimed as her head perked up. The crew and Rex never said that. How could Bendu know this unless... "You- you knew her too?" Nitza asked in realization.

"I know her, yes."

"What does that mean?"

"Something beyond your comprehension," Bendu answered. "I remember you telling me of this mysterious woman with orange skin and striped horns. The first of the strangers you encountered. I knew it was the same person who had come across me around the time the strangers first came. How do you think you met her out there? Because she had come back from talking to me. She called herself Ahsoka Tano. Former Jedi."

"But if you knew her and I told you about her, why not say anything?" Nitza looked a little disappointed. She even felt betrayed.

Feeling this wave of distance coming from Nitza, the Bendu snorted and said confidently. "It does not matter what we each learned about her then. Now, she is where her fate has taken her."

"You knew she was gone, didn't you?"

"She is gone, as of now."

"I don't understand."

"As I have said, this is something beyond your comprehension. But if it is easier to understand that way, then yes, she is gone."

"Don't you mean, with the Force…"

Bendu nodded. She remembered what he had taught her. But she was not satisfied. "Why not tell me?"

"It didn't matter—"

"You said that about knowing her then. But why not tell me she was gone now."

Bendu thought. How best to explain it without Nitza getting angry? "Nitza, if I told you her fate, would you have told her?"

"I…." Nitza hung her head. "Yes. But why not? She could be alive."

"But in the moment that is not her path. I kept quiet so her path would remain true. Do you understand?"

"I do but now I don't understand."

Bendu shook his head. "What?"

"Why is it her fate?"

"It is as the Force wills it to be. I am the Bendu. And the Force can't always be the light, saving everyone. Sometimes it must be dark."

"But isn't dark bad… the Bogan?"

"The Bogan yes. But remember the middle?"

Nitza got excited because she knew the answer. "The Bendu! That's you!"

Bendu laughed at the little girl's excitement.


	40. Inside

Nitza was skipping down a path when she heard a shrill squeak behind her. She looked back seeing her little dokma friend. "Hi Print!"

The little guy squeaks again, stopping to watch her. She smiled and continued walking away, "I'm going to High Trees. I'll see you later. Later, yep, yep!" She heard scuttling behind her. She didn't stop walking but she looked back. Print was trying to keep up even with his small fast strides. She did stop walking and asked, "You want to come? Ok, ok, ok…" She reached down, picked him up, and cradled him in her arms as she continued her trek towards High Trees.

Nitza got to the stranger's base only a few moments later. As soon as she got past the transponder border, Print started trying to struggle out of her grip. "O put you down, no worries Print. No worries."

As soon as she let the little dokma down, Print scurried over towards the ships. She watched close behind as Print went and climbed up one of the bigger ships, going up and over one wing. She giggled as he climbed upside down and then came back down to walk on the ground. Soon he began to scurry towards another big ship. "The Ghost…" Nitza gasped as Print scuttled down up to the open ramp and stopped just at the foot of the platform, looking around. Nitza went up to the front next to Print and said, "They taught me about many ships. They call the Ghost a freighter. Because it's big and holds many things. Many, many things!"

Print just scurried up the ramp. "No, Print! Print, come back! Print!" Nitza tapped her foot nervously on the ground. "No, no, no go in… Print…" She didn't want to go inside. She may get trapped…and cold, just like when she woke up in that very big battleship. But Print was in there, and she had to keep her friend out of trouble. Following the off-colored dokma, Nitza took one step on the cold ramp. The sensation made her shudder, but she couldn't stop. She tiptoed up and into the spacious cargo room.

Inside was a bunch of boxes and other vehicles. Speeders… she thought they called them. Nitza continued to tiptoe in, looking at the different places she could go. Down a hall on her left, a room in front of her, and then a ladder on her right. Apparently the ladder seemed the way to go because Print went up the sidebar. "No, Print…." Nitza hissed. She was scared, and she wanted to go outside into the fresh air. But Print was inside. Nitza hesitantly grabbed the handlebars, both hands, securely. Then Nitza climbed up slowly. When she got to the top, she found a smaller room. Lots of sitting areas… four chairs… She finally could see through the dome window but from the other side. Seeing a joystick control in front of the left chair on the panel, she deduced this was a cockpit.

A shrill squeal came from behind her. Print was staring at a door. Nitza went up to him to pick him up but the door suddenly slid open. Nitza out of surprise fell back. The door closed. Print gave a squeak. Nitza got up and went up to the door, remembering that it opened when people walked up to them. Nitza stepped forward again and the door opened. Nitza found herself in a hallway that ended for up ahead. Only a couple steps in and she saw on her right there was another hallway. Two doors on each side. "Wow, so many rooms? Many, many."

She suddenly heard voices. Nitza looked back seeing the closed door behind her now. Someone was coming in. Nitza became afraid. It must have been her friends. But what if they found her here uninvited. She would be in trouble, she just knew it. Also, they would keep her here like last time. Like the big ship. Cold… no life. She wanted out.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door slid open. There was Sabine, Ezra, Kanan, and someone else, standing there. A man, tall, well-trimmed red hair wearing nothing but light gray long sleeve clothing. The group was in the middle of talking when they spotted Nitza, wide-eyed and frozen in guilt standing in the middle of the hallway. "Nitza?" Sabine almost stated.

From between their legs, Chopper pushed forward. The droid spotted Print in front of Nitza. Almost instantly, the little dokma screeched as Chopper began his pursuit. Print retreated down the hallway with the doors. Chopper charged. Nitza screamed and ran after Print. Ezra and Sabine were yelling after Chopper for him to stop. Kanan and the other man weren't far behind. Nitza had gone to Print to scoop him up in her arms. But she found herself at the end of the hallway, cornered by Chopper. Fear of Chopper's sudden approach, Print's fear of the droid, and the feeling of being trapped made her pull Print close to her chest and yell, "Leave us alone! Leave us alone!" she closed her eyes, feeling genuinely afraid.

Sabine and Ezra came and pulled Chopper back as Kanan came up to Nitza and tried to console her. "Nitza, it's all righ—"

"Leave us alone! Leave us alone!" She continued to scream.

Kanan had to kneel down and gently put a hand on her shoulder to get her to stop and look. She opened her eyes and saw Sabine and Ezra were arguing with Chopper, telling him how bad it was going after Nitza the way he did. The man that had come in with all of them just stood idly by, almost amazed to see Nitza there. Why? She didn't even know who he was. Still feeling scared, she gulped and looked at Kanan's mask. He said to her, "Sit down, take a few breaths."

The calm words of Kanan assured her she would be fine doing as she was told. She sat down, held Print close to her, and took deep breaths. Sabine left Ezra with Chopper to go over to Kanan and say, "Chopper's so-called hobby on hunting down those shelled guys is the reason he came after Nitza. We told him to be careful next time."

"Don't know if he'll listen," Ezra added. Chopper let his metal electric rod come out to zap Ezra on the knee. "Ow, hey!"

The random man finally had gotten past his surprise and was now watching in interest. He rested against the wall, arms crossed, and asked, "Is this a common occurrence around here, especially with children?"

"Nitza lives here on Atollon," Kanan explained. "She's a friend and comes to visit."

Nitza finally calmed down enough to hear the conversation. She remembered what Sabine said. "They're Dokma."

"What?" Sabine asked, kneeling down Nitza's eye level.

"Dokma…" She said. She loosened her grip on Print, but he didn't leave her hug. Print stayed huddled in her arms. Nitza said, "They're called Dokma." The random man figured he wasn't needed and decided to walk out back to the cockpit.

"Oh…" Sabine said, looking at Print. "So, that's what they're called. How do you know?"

"Ben—my friend—told me." Nitza looked down at Print. "I call this one Print. I like his spots."

"They are off-colored, unlike the other ones," Ezra said as he came up to Nitza and kneeled to get a better look of Print. "Is he your little friend?" Nitza nodded, holding Print out for Ezra to pet him. The little dokma purred at the contact.

))))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron ((((((((((((

Zeb and Hera were walking up the ramp to the Ghost's cargo hold when they saw Fenn Rau leaning against the wall looking at the scene in the middle of the big room. Sabine and Kanan were sitting next to each other on some crates across the room while Ezra and Nitza were sitting on the ground back to them. Chopper was in front of them with a little shell creature running around him. Nitza would laugh and giggle as Chopper's head would spin trying to follow the creature doing circles.

Zeb made a side comment to Hera, "Is Nitza… inside the ship?"

"Shh, don't make a big deal of it yet," Hera whispered back.

Zeb came up to Fenn and said, "Heard you got cleared today. Welcome to the Rebellion…" He held out a hand to Fenn. "Officially…" Fenn shook it back.

Hera then said, "And we found out why. Thank you, Fenn. And sorry about the Protectors."

"I thank you for your condolences and I thank you for welcoming me." He looked back at the scene. Nitza was laughing as the little shell creature climbed up on Chopper to his head. Chopper got a bit freaked out and spun his head. The little creature hung on until it couldn't and when it flew off, the creatures landed in Nitza's open arms. Nitza laughed and fell back hold the little creature in her arms still. When she looked up and saw Hera and Zeb, she sat up and said, "Hi!"

"Hi, Nitza," Hera responded.

"What yah all doin'?" Zeb asked.

"Having fun!" She exclaimed.

"Learning a few things too," Ezra said. "Apparently these little guys are called dokma. The spiders are called krykna—"

"And this is my best friend Print!" Nitza held up Print over her head. The little dokma gave a little squeak.

"Ok…." Zeb began, unsure of how to follow up on that.

"And what about you?" Hera asked. "Learning something new about, perhaps, ships." She motioned to the cargo hold they were in.

"Ships aren't bad," Nitza said as she held Print close to her chest. "I was just afraid."

"Good to see you facing your fears," Hera told her.

"And I made a new friend!" Nitza pointed at Fenn Rau, "Fenn friend!"

Sabine had to bit her lip to keep from laughing as Kanan just smiled. Ezra, though, couldn't hold back his burst of laughter. Fenn didn't laugh but he didn't frown either. All he could say to Hera and Zeb was, "I did not start it, it was the boy."

Print jumped out of Nitza's grip and began to climb Chopper again, this time sitting on the shoulder of his leg. Chopper tried to get Print off by moving around but Print sat relaxed. Nitza laughed, her genuine happiness like a wave of relaxing emotions for anyone. Fenn then said, "I almost forgot what it was like to be around innocence, especially now in a time of war."

Hera nodded in agreement and said, "Sometimes I can't believe Nitza showed up and came to us when we needed it the most."

"Showed up… where is she from?"

Hera couldn't answer.


	41. Kids and Shenanigans

Nitza burst out of the water's surface with a loud gasp before going back down underwater to swim. She was at the watering hole. The pool of water she liked to swim in. She had gone in to play and cool off as the days of the warm season got hotter, but Nitza also got in to wash off the dust and sand that would accumulate on her skin. "Ahhhh…" she sighed as she came up again and laid back against the water's surface so that she floated facing up.

Nitza suddenly heard from above the sound of two A-wings coming in her direction. She looked straight up at the sky, watching as the two small ships zoomed by across the sky and heading towards High Trees. "Hmmmm…. I can go visit today!" Nitza got out of the pool and tried to shake some of the water off her clothing. She ignored the leftover drench and began to run to the cluster of huge coral trees far away.

Fifteen minutes later, Nitza arrived seeing pretty much every ship she's used to seeing there waiting for her. She was thinking of heading to the Ghost before she heard laughter. It was coming from around High Trees, on the other side where more ships were docked. Nitza decided to continue on. It wasn't Hera or any of her friends' laughter she recognized, and it wasn't even an adult's laughter. They sounded young. She got to the other side of the huge trunk of the tree, seeing ships like A-wings. But then there was a big one. Nitza could only describe it as flat and round. It was so, "Weird…"

People were on the top, and surprisingly, they were kids. A lot older than Nitza but a lot young than Ezra and Sabine. A large boy with caucasian skin and barely any hair. He was laughing throwing water from a bowl at a girl next to him. She was pinked skin, darker spots covering visible areas like around the hairline. And she had, spikes growing from her head? The girl yelled angrily at the boy, holding something like a wet cloth in her hand. The boy was fooling around with the water, annoying the girl. Suddenly a small door opened on the roof and out came another boy, much younger than the other two. He had overgrown black hair and a heavy pilot suite for someone his age. Seeing they were young like her, Nitza wondered perhaps… she could go over and say hi? She didn't know if she should or not.

Suddenly a hand was placed on her shoulder and Nitza slightly jumped. She turned around to see Ezra standing there with the very tall man with the accent. Sato. Ezra said, "Hey it's ok Nitza. Just us." Nitza nodded. She looked down and saw a box he held by a handle and it looked like it was full of items. Tools maybe? Then Ezra waved his hand that had been placed on her shoulder, as if he were trying to dry it. "Um, did you… fall in water?" He asked. "Your clothes are all wet."

"Oh!" Nitza said embarrassed, "I didn't fall. I swam. Didn't have time to dry. I wanted to come. Yep, yep, yep!" Sato raised an eyebrow as if he were concerned about this odd behavior. Nitza didn't notice because she shifted the topic back to what was behind her. Nitza turned around and pointed at the kids on top of the ship. "I saw them."

"Oh yeah," Ezra said excitedly. "Come meet the Iron Squadron."

"What's that?" Nitza asked as they walked to the ship with Sato.

Standing just below, Ezra whistled and got the kid's attention. They all looked over the edge of the ship and looked down at them. The younger boy yelled out, "Hey Uncle Sato! You got all the tools we need?"

"Yes," Sato replied, "And I brought some help." He motioned to Ezra. But Ezra realized a moment of opportunity.

He pushed Nitza forward in front of him saying, "Yes he did! Nitza here."

"What?" Sato asked confused. Ezra whispered something to Sato which made Sato look hesitant at first before saying, "Yes. Nitza's going to help us, and in turn, you will teach her what you know."

Ezra left Nitza with Sato and the kids, giving Nitza time to be introduced before going inside the ship and starting on work. Whatever kind of work that was. Her task was to help Gooti, the pink-skinned girl. They were in a small space by the looping hallways. There was steam coming out of some cracks in the walls, but not enough to fog up the room. Nitza watched quietly on the side as Gooti worked on with frustration leaning into a square hole made in the floor by just taking a piece off.

Feeling curious eyes on her, Gooti suddenly looked at Nitza with a sneer. "Are you going to just watch or are you going to help?" Gooti said, accent thick with a bit of anger.

"I… I don't know what to do," Nitza said timidly.

Gooti noticed Nitza's fearful response, making Gooti sigh in realization of what she did. Gooti rolled her eyes but smirked, "Figures. Sato did say we would teach you what we know. I just didn't think he meant you were still learning."

"Learning what?"

Gooti blinked, "How to… fix a ship," She said as if it were obvious.

"Oh," Nitza said, forcing a tone of understanding. Gooti became a little more nervous.

"Oh boy…." Came another voice. Nitza and Gooti looked up at the hallway and saw the bigger boy, Jonner, with their droid, R3. Jonner had his arms crossed and said, "Looks like you're going to have a fun full day with no help, Gooti." Jonner patted R3.

Gooti said, "Think I still can't do it."

"And beat me and R3 on our fix on the weapons?" he said in taunting tone.

"You're on," Gooti replied. Jonner and R3 left Nitza to look at Gooti a little bit betrayed. Gooti didn't trust Nitza to help her? Quickly, Gooti said, "Nitza, come here." Nitza nervously crawled up to sit next to Gooti by the hole in the ground. Gooti held out a tool in her hands. "These are wire cutters." Gooti demonstrated the tool's use by leaning down into the hold and reach for a line colored red and cutting part of it. "I only need to do so much because we need to check inside. See how the wires inside the main one are fried." Nitza watched in wonder as Gooti worked with delicate and gloved fingers to rewire and then use a tool called a fuser to put them back together. "Done."

"Oooooo, am I going to do that? Am I, am I?"

"Well, it's best we get you started on something simple. Hmmm." Gooti thought, then pulled another floor piece off to show another hole in the floor. She pointed down at some machinery. "It's off right now since we haven't started working on it yet, so it's safe for you to screw back in the screws."

"Screw in screws…" Nitza repeated as if saying it was fun.

Gooti grabbed a tool from the toolbox and pulled out one to hand to Nitza. "Take this wrench, jump in, and I'll teach you how to do it. We'll show Jonner what you got."

**)))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron (((((((((((((**

"You said Gooti would be better off with her," Sato said as he handed a wielder to his nephew. Mart wiped the sweat off from below his low cut bangs before grabbing the tool. He then laid back down on the ground to look up below the control panel of the cockpit and got to fixing it.

His uncle sat on the pilot chair as he heard Mart say, "Yeah I did before you said that she barely knows how to fix a ship, let alone, know parts of it. Gooti's going to have a field day with her."

"Hera and her team had taught her enough so far. Ezra thought it would be a good opportunity to add ship repair to that."

"Enough? You make her sound like she knows nothing."

"She knows enough. How to survive. She lives here on Atollon."

"Seriously? And I thought she was another kid for hire."

"Another kid—" Sato repeated before getting the message quickly, "Mart…" he began sincerely. Martin sat up from underneath the panel and looked up at Sato. "You are not a kid for hire. You are my nephew, my family."

Mart nodded, smiling at his Uncle. Then the boy said, "Either way, isn't she too young to be a part of the Rebellion."

"I thought your motto was 'no one is too young'"

"Ok, ok, maybe there is a limit. But going off from that, do her parents say anything about it."

"So far she has no one but a stranger out there in the wilds."

"Wait? No one else lives on this planet? Then where is she from?"

The sound of something turning on was heard from down the hall then followed by cheering. Mart and Sato got up and began to walk down the looping hallway to where Gooti and Nitza were in one of the rooms. Gooti was helping Nitza out from below the floor panel and onto the floor. Then Nitza waved her hands with a wrench in the air before yelling, "I did it, I did it!"

"Yes you did," Gooti said raising a hand palm facing the girls, "High-five"

"Yeah!" Nitza high fived back.

Sato said, "Doesn't look like Gooti got stressed too much—"

"I got weapon's systems all polished up!" came a yell. Jonner, came running in with R3. The two stopped and looked at Gooti and Nitza, Gooti with a smirk and Nitza with a curious smile. Jonner frowned, "No! But how?"

"I had a little help." Gooti put an arm around Nitza. "Never underestimate a little girl."

"Yeah, I fell for that one…" Jonner said. "Sorry."

"It's ok." Nitza held up the wrench. "I know how to fix ships!"

Sato noticed something. Her clothes had oil stains on them. It wasn't unusual to see her dirty. Almost every day she came in dusty. But she came in with drenched clothing today. The time helping his nephew with the ship finally got him thinking.


	42. Concerning Nitza part 1

"What's this about?" Hera asked as Commander Sato brought her to the main meeting area. He went up to the round table, pressing a button that pulled up a holographic vid. It was the view from one of their surveillance cameras pointing West. It looked at first like a bunch of coral trees making up a forest, then the camera zoomed in on one leaf. Nitza was there, crouched on a leaf eating something. She was gorging down food. The video paused. "What's wrong with Nitza? She looks fine."

"I hope she is," Sato said. He then said, less authoritatively, "How is she?"

"I gave you a report on her two days ago."

"I know. I am just asking again."

"Nothing new except Sabine and Gooti are keeping her up on her newfound skill on repairing ships."

"She doesn't look sick to you are anything? Malnourished?"

Everything he said so far sent red flags for Hera. Sato always asked if she was ok and then would leave it at a yes. But as Hera looked at the video and then looked at Sato, she got a slight idea of what was going on. "Commander if I may be unprofessional with you now…" Sato didn't waiver, but when he nodded, Hera knew that he knew he was compromised. "Ever since Nitza had helped fix the Hammer, you've been interested more in her whereabouts."

"I ask you to report on her all the time, Captain."

"Every month or so. But not every two days." Hera crossed her arms.

Sato looked down in thought before looking back up again at Hera and saying, "Since Mart returned to me I have been thinking about what it took me to go myself and save my nephew. It shouldn't have taken me more than a second but it did."

Hera let a small smile show. "You're making up for it now. You came to help him, and now you've been spending the free time that you have with him and his team."

"But even before, when I thought he was dead…"

Hera sighed and said, "You want to make sure you can help Nitza anyway you can… so she doesn't feel abandoned like Mart had felt. That's it, isn't it? Commander Sato, the last thing she's going to feel is that she's abandoned. She comes here almost every other day and when she's not here she's with her caretaker."

"Are you sure she's with them?"

"She says she is."

"I don't mean to sound like I don't trust you, but are you sure she's with someone?"

"I'm sure."

Sato wasn't satisfied. "Her eating habits, her hygiene, even her way of speaking and how she only wears one pair of ragged clothing. If someone were taking care of, don't you think those factors wouldn't be a problem."

Hera looked at the holographic vid. It replayed over and over. Nitza was happily gorging down on her food. She seemed happy and healthy, but Sato had a point. She looked dirty, wasn't eating right, and still had trouble with repetition of words. And someone was supposed to be taking care of her? Something wasn't adding up and Sato was on the right track. "I'll go find out more," Hera said.

**)))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((((**

Nitza was using a rock to crack open a pore on the leaf she was on. She was going to finish her lunch in a few moments until she heard the sound of a machine. "Speeder bike…" She whispered as she stood up to look down the path. Hera was coming up towards the coral tree Nitza was on.

Nitza climbed down the trunk to meet her at the base. Hera got off with one of the transponders in hand. Nitza waved and said, "Hello, Hera! Hello, hello!"

"Hi, Nitza, um—uh—you got something on your face."

"Huh?" Nitza put a hand over her mouth, feeling crumbs on her cheeks. "Oh." She used her shirt to wipe her mouth before smiling. "Got it."

Hera had an eyebrow raised, concern evident. But quickly she shook her head and asked, "What were you eating?"

"Seed fruits!"

"What?"

"I show you. Follow me, follow me." Nitza motioned for Hera to follow her up the trunk. Hera copied her, using the divots in the trunk to climb up. Nitza sat on the edge of the leaf and waited for Hera to join and sit next to her. Nitza held out a rock in her hand and then said, "You take a rock and do this." She slammed the rock into the pore and revealed the seed fruits hidden inside. "See? See?"

"I see and you eat this every day?"

"Yep, yep, yep. Have some." Nitza put seeds in Hera's palms.

Hera looked down at the seeds and then at Nitza. Nitza was happily stuffing seeds in her mouth. A little bit of the juice dropped down the side of her mouth. She looked up and saw Hera putting one in her mouth at a time. Nitza cocked her head to the side in curiosity, then looked at the leftover fruit in her hand. She put the seeds in her mouth one at a time like Hera. Hera smiled like she had succeeded in something, then she asked, "So do you come here when you're not with us?"

"Not all the time. No, no, no. I go out there…" Nitza pointed far left beyond a couple of tree lines. "The watering hole."

"Watering hole? But there's no water on the surface unless you go to the dry stream that's… there…" Hera faltered as she pointed in the same direction Nitza had. "But no one reported a watering hole."

Nitza giggled. "Come, I show you. You might have missed it last time. Yep, yep, yep."

Nitza climbed down the trunk with Hera just behind her. But as she began to walk towards the watering hole, Hera called out to her, "Best we go by speeder." Nitza looked back and saw Hera get on her bike and then motioning to a spot behind her. Nitza bit her lip nervously. She'd never ridden in one of those before, or ever thought she ever could. She went up to it, tapped it on the front, and asked Hera, "I don't know how to ride it. What if I fall off?"

Hera chuckled as she stuck the transponder on the front. She said, "Just sit behind me and I'll do the rest. You'll be fine."

Nitza understood and began to climb on. The Speeder shook with her sudden weight and on instinct, she wrapped her arms around Hera's waist and pressed her head on to the woman's back. Hera smiled and said, "You'll lear to stabilize yourself. Just hang on to me and you'll be fine." Nitza could only nod.

Suddenly, they were off.


	43. Concerning Nitza part 2

Hera kept her eyes forward as she rode the speeder through the thick of the forest. But she could hear behind her Nitza laughing. The girl was no longer nervous. She was having a blast. She would cry out but in joy and look in wonder as shrubbery passed her by in a flash. "Wow, I can beat the krykna in a race with this…"

"Ugh, huh…" Hera said but not making a comment. Everything Nitza had said today had been informative. She got her food from out here, foraging I herself, and the fact that she copied from Hera in how to eat showed she could have done the same if someone else had taught Nitza. But no one else seemed to have done so before. Then there was this watering hole. Hera was wondering if that was the reason Nitza came with wet cloths most of the time. When they got to the watering hole Hera stopped just at the shore. Nitza jumped off and pointed upriver where the water was coming from. Nitza explained, "You saw only stream water from far down there, but it all comes down here to the watering hole. Then it sinks into the underground river."

"So there are underground rivers. We figured as much but only by theory."

"Big ones!" Nitza answered. "Big, big, big rivers. But it's krykna's place. So we drink from stream up here. And when we want to swim in it…" Nitza ran into the water excited all of a sudden and then when it got deeper she fully submerged. She was below for a few moments, which worried Hera enough she stepped into the water to try and see if she could spot Nitza. There were bubbles up ahead before Nitza burst out, jumping high in the air before falling back into the water. She then stood back and laughed. "We jump in and have fun!"

As Nitza fell back to the water so she floated stomach up, Hera called out to her from the edge of the pool, "And you jump in with your clothes, just like that?"

"Yep, yep, yep." Nitza started to swim towards Hera. "It helps make it cleaner. And me, too." Nitza stood up on the shallow part of the shore in front of Hera. Nitza had her hands out to the sides and she spun around. "See? See?"

"Yeah…" Hera said unnerved. Guess she got that question answered too. Not being able to take it anymore, Hera said, "Look, hun, you do know that what you're doing doesn't exactly keep you clean."

"It doesn't?"

"You need a proper bath."

"A bath?" Nitza asked curios. "What's that?"

Hera blinked. Sato had to be right. She couldn't be with someone if they weren't taking care of her properly. "Nitza, are you sure you aren't alone out here? Do you have someone with you?"

Nitza looked a little nervous to hear this question. But she did manage to answer, "Yes, Ben—I mean – my friend comes out here with me." Hera pondered the answer. This isn't the first time she mentioned her friend and almost said their name. If she was out here she wouldn't mess up like that. Also, Nitza had said 'we' instead of 'I' a couple of times today. Maybe there is someone out there, but they're not taking care of Nitza right. "Nitza, is it ok if you take me to where your friend is. I would like to meet them."

"Ugh…. I ugh…. Can't…." Nitza backed away from Hera.

Hera held out her hands and said, "No, no, no don't worry, we won't do anything to them. We'll just talk to them—" Nitza suddenly took off. "Nitza no! Wait!" Hera tried to run after her but Nitza was gone in a flash over a hill and towards the thick of the forest. Hera got up to the top of the hill and looked down. Nitza was out of sight. "Oh no…." Hera gasped.

**)))))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron ((((((((((((((((((**

"She freaked out?" Sato asked.

"Ran so fast, I lost sight of her," Hera said.

After Nitza had run, Hera had gone back to Chopper Base to report to Sato. As they were talking by the round table, Sato said, "How did you ask?"

"I got to comfort level like I always do. I ask simple questions that she loved to answer, then I asked."

"That's a reasonable approach, especially since you had all this time to gain her trust. You did what needed to be done."

"Still she ran. I never got to finish."

Sato tried to assure her, "I only asked for you to find out if she was being taken of by someone or not. By the sounds of it, she does have someone."

"But she's afraid to talk about them. Commander, I'm so…" Hera put her hands on the table and leaned over, "I'm so worried. Something's wrong."

"I do agree. But we won't know more until she comes back."

"If she comes back…." Hera finished with slight doubt.


	44. Absolutes

A couple of days after Nitza's incident with Hera, no one on the base had seen the girl. The crew of the Ghost were more worried than ever. Nitza made a habit of making sure she wasn't found unless she wanted to willingly be seen.

That's all Hera could think about as she sat in the cockpit of the ship. It was the first time she had time to herself since their earlier mission to Wynkanthu. And with ever so famous but not so really Pirate Hondo Ohnaka to add. He was downstairs with Ezra discussing the plan to take him and his unlikely partner Azmorgon with their Melch tag along back to… well… wherever.

Hera a little time before Ezra came up the stairs with Hondo behind him. He said, "Guess what, I'll be joining you on dropping Hondo and the others off." He sat down on the passenger chair next to Hera's.

"Why the change in plan?" Hera muttered, annoyed.

"Well," Hondo began, "Every good Pilot needs a good co-piloted—"

"Spill it, you two." Hera had no time for Hondo's brown-nose comments for the rest of the day.

Ezra said sheepishly, "We first got to stop by Nixus to pick up something for Hondo before heading to Garel."

"Really, and why is that?"

"The less you know, the less you are involved," the Weekay man added with a cheery tone as he sat down on the chair behind Hera's.

Hera shrugged and said, "Well, I guess I can't argue with that good though." She leaned closer to the control panel and began pressing a few buttons to start the ship. She faltered as her mind wavered and she looked up into the distance. She saw the hills with the coral. The occasional krykna getting too close for comfort to the fence. No sign of the little girl.

"Hera," Ezra began, "She'll come back. Nitza always comes around."

"But she easily gets scared, too. She's just a little girl…"

Ezra tried to answer but Hondo was quick to ask, "If I may ask who this little Nitza—"

"None of your business."

"I am hurt," Hondo said in his mock tone of anger, "Here I am, humble Hondo, trying to give advice and you reject me."

Hera sighed and looked back to stare Hondo dead in the eye, "The more we see you, the harder it is to take advice, you know that right?"

"Just hear me out, Captain."

Hera crossed her arms and listened. Hondo continued, "By the sounds of this dilemma, this Nitza character comes and goes, she gets scared a lot. But why does she always come back? Hmmm."

Ezra answered, "Well, she likes to learn from us. She's never been out of Atollon."

"Well then, there is your answer, she'll come back."

"You don't even know her, Hondo," the Twi'Lek retorted.

"But I know children." Hondo's voice deepened, "Trust when I say I know. In fact, I had to work with Jedi Younglings once, and from that, I learned something. When they have a goal, they never let it go. If she's curious to learn, she'll never stop. She'll come back." He ended with his happy tone as usual, and this time, Hera wasn't annoyed by it.

Hera turned back around, then pulled down the lever to raise the ship off the ground. She said, "All right Hondo, I trust you on this one."

Hondo sat back on his chair, hand behind his head to rest. "Ah, yes you do."

**)))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((((**

A week went by since Nitza had last talked with the strangers. But when Bendu had woken up in the morning, she was not in her hollow. "Hmmm." He decided he would go out for a stroll, thinking she had come around and gone back to the strangers. But she hadn't.

He had gone to the watering hole after a couple of moments of lumbering around. There, Nitza sat on the shore. She was grabbing flat rocks on the side and skipping them over the surface. Bendu came up beside her and put his hand in the water to scoop it in his cupped hand. Nitza watched intently as he sipped the water up, but she did nothing. Noticing this, he said, "I'm surprised you are not copying me."

"Ugh…." She began, not knowing if she should copy or not.

Then he said, "Not that you have to, but it's unlike you not to."

Nitza shrugged. "I don't know…."

"Nitza, I am the Bendu…."

Nitza winced. "You know when I lie. I know, I know, I know…."

"So, are you going to tell me what the Twi'lek said to you?"

"She wondered if there was someone taking care of me."

Bendu stiffened but never wavered, "Did you, tell her about me?"

"I ran. I didn't want to say anything."

Bendu relaxed. It didn't really matter if others knew about him, but he would never get a break if they did. Beings always wanted to know what could not be understood and therefore they will do whatever to get to him. He'd get barely any sleep from that. But for Nitza, she didn't know that. She had to have her own motive for not telling, "Nitza, why didn't you say anything?"

At first, Nitza didn't want to answer. She felt bad for what she might say next. But she couldn't lie to Bendu. She didn't want to lie to him. "Hera said what I was showing her wasn't right. That's why I got scared when she asked about you. You taught me a lot, but I did it wrong. I was worried she wouldn't like you. No one would if what you were doing was wrong to them."

"Hmmmm, interesting…." Bendu said as he adjusted himself to lay on his stomach, cross his arms and lay his head on them. Nitza was worried about him, but not in the way he'd worry for himself. He tried to assure her, "It does not matter what she thinks of me. Of what any of them think. I am the Bendu."

"But Kanan once said the reason why he and Ezra don't talk about you is because others won't understand why you exist. I don't know what that means. I think it's because of the Force. What if because they don't like you, they don't want me with you?" Nitza crawled over to him so that she came to rest her upper body on his arm. "I want to be with you, Bendu."

It was becoming clear Nitza was afraid of separation as well. Seeing Nitza get close, he let her be comforted. But the longer she rested there the more he realized once again… this wasn't right. Nitza had to learn that a little separation was ok… especially for what may lay ahead in the future. So he began, "What is it that she thought you did wrong?"

"I was only cleaning myself here as usual. But she said I needed a bath, whatever a bath is."

Bendu laughed, "Hahahaha! Well, I can see what Hera means. Nitza, you lived out here with me for a long time. You do not have what they have. If you want to learn what they think is right, learn it. You do not have to do it unless you want to. After all, you make your own choices, and what they think is wrong hasn't harmed anyone in any way. So why worry?"

"Do you think doing what they think is right will make them like you?"

"Perhaps. Though my intention is not for them to like me. In fact, I believe it best I remain hidden to them all, for now. I believe the Force has not willed my presence to be known yet."

"Ok," Nitza said, a bit more cheerful then earlier. Again, Bendu gave more vague advice then the clear advice he used to do, but it was still advice. Also…. The Force had its plans. She still didn't get that part, but she always trusted Bendu's word when it came to that.

Nitza reached down into the water, cupped her hands, and slurped it up like Bendu.


	45. Bath Time

It only took a few more days for Nitza to work up the courage to go visit the base, but she still made sure to stay hidden as she got to High Trees. Since Bendu still wanted to remain unnoticed, Nitza had to find a way to explain to Hera who she couldn't meet him. So, Nitza waited for the one person who would understand her situation. Nitza waited under the shelter of an A-wing until she saw Kanan coming by. Nitza whispered, "Kanan…."

The man stopped, a bit shocked to have heard her all of a sudden. It was enough of a shock for him not to pinpoint where Nitza was yet. She whispered, "Down here… under the A-wing."

Kanan reached his hand out to the wing of the ship to use it to help him kneel. He bent down and said, "Hey, kid. We've missed you around here."

"I'm sorry. I am, I am… I just…"

"Hera told me. I know I told you why Ezra and I don't talk about Bendu, but you have no reason not to say anything."

"I talked to Bendu. He likes being hidden," Nitza then lowered her voice more, "I think he's shy."

Kanan laughed as if the thought of Bendu being shy was totally surreal. Then he stopped laughing when he realized, "Wait a minute, I've got an idea."

"What is it, what, what?"

**)))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron (((((((((((**

Hera was with Sabine in the cargo hold of the ship when Kanan came in with Nitza. Relieved to see the little girl, Hera exclaimed, "Nitza, oh I was so worried."

As Hera came up to Nitza and kneeled down in front of the girl, Nitza said, "I'm sorry. I want you to meet my friend. It's just…. he's shy. He doesn't like strangers. That's why Atollon is home."

Sabine looked at Hera. Hera could only stare at Nitza as she processed what she said. A stranger who came to Atollon because he was anti-Social? There's got to be more reason than that. Also, if Nitza knew why her caretaker was here, he would know how she came to Atollon herself.

Hera knew that she would have to get back to that last thought later if Nitza wasn't going to take her to her caretaker directly. So Hera continued to think about it and a scary thought came to mind. "Is he nice to you?"

Kanan frowned. He knew what Hera was getting at and since Nitza had been all secretive about Bendu, Hera had a right to ask. Little girls with strangers usually never ended on a good note. Nitza eyes lit up and she said genuinely cheerful, "Yep, yep, yep. He's my friend."

Hera hummed to herself and thought. Nitza said he was her friend, yet he didn't care enough to give Nitza a proper living. Well, she liked him, so there was something. Still, "Ok then well, I know he cares, but there are still some things we need to address that he hasn't."

"You mean… a bath?" Nitza asked.

**))))))))))))))) Atollonians (((((((((((((**

Nitza found herself in a small room. Memories started going through her mind. This was a refresher…. With a toilet…. And a shower with…. "A tub…"

"You..." Hera began as she and Sabine walked into the refresher and the door closed. "You know what this is…"

"I remember, I do, I do… and… water comes out from there," She pointed to the faucet.

"Yep, now let's get started."

As Sabine helped Nitza undress, Hera filled the tub. Soon Nitza was sitting in the tub and the water up to her chest. She giggled with excitement, splashing the water around, sometimes enough to have Sabine try and stop her. "This is fun! Fun, fun, fun!" Nitza slapped the water's surface, getting water all over Sabine.

"Right…" Sabine faltered as she tried to somehow brush off the water.

Hera poured some thick liquid on Nitza's now wet hair. The girls gasped and asked, "What's that?"

"Shampoo. Rub it around your head until there are bubbles."

"Bubbles?" Nitza asked confused.

"Just try it."

Nitza did so, scratching her scalp until she felt something funny. Nitza looked at her hands. A sort of white substance with light texture was on her hands. In excitement, Nitza spread her hands out and yelled, "Bubbles!" White foam flew everywhere, the walls, the glass door of the shower part of the bath, and then some on Hera and Sabine's face. For a few moments, the two women did nothing. They were astounded at Nitza's reaction to anything. Then Hera started laughing as she reached up and wiped bubbled off her face. Sabine just blew air out of her mouth so that some bubbles got off her face. A deadpan was seen on her face, but Sabine said nothing.

Hera stood up, grabbed a bucket she had by her and dunked it in the tub to scoop up water. "Ok, let's move on to soap." She dunked the water on the little girl's head, making Nitza giggle.

Then Nitza asked. "Are there more bubbles in soap?"

"Double the amount."

"Yay!" Nitza splashed water again and it got on Sabine.

Sabine sighed and said, "Ok, but let's control the amount of soap because I'm gonna lose it."

**)))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron (((((((((((((((**

Zeb and Ezra walked into the Ghost and climbed up the ladder to go to their room. As they passed the cockpit and went down the hallway, Ezra and Zeb heard a lot of chatter coming from the refresher at the very end of the hallway. They went down and stopped just outside the door and put an ear up against the surface to hear. As soon as they did, they heard Kanan right behind them, "Refresher's occupied."

Zeb slightly jumped at the Jedi's sudden appearance. "Karabast, you need a bell."

Ezra was still trying to listen in but couldn't get much but a bunch of mumbling. He asked Kanan, "What's going on? The girls' having a party or what?"

"I guess you can say that. Nitza's getting a bath."

"She's back?" Zeb said with excitement. "Knew the little 'un wouldn't stay away for long."

Ezra suddenly stepped back before the door slid open. Ezra and Zeb peered in to see Hera and Sabine standing behind Nitza. The little girl no longer had her old, tattered clothes. She had on a very long and lose gray shirt that went down to her knees. A small rope was tied around her waist, making her big shirt look like a dress. She still was barefoot, but her skin looked cleaner than ever and her hair was wet and no longer so tangled.

"Well look who cleans up nice," Ezra commented.

Nitza exclaimed. "I took a bath, yes I did, yes I did. And I got this!" She pulled the collar of her shirt dress.

"So finally giving up your old clothing?" Zeb asked.

"Nope, nope, nope." She grabbed her old cloths from Sabine.

Hera explained, "I gave her one of the old shirts I don't wear so she at least has options now." She watched Nitza skipping around joyously but still holding her old clothes in hands. "I just hope she wears my shirt more."


	46. The Bogan Man part 1

Nitza went running up along the shore of the small river. She was laughing in joy as Bendu followed behind her slowly. At one point she tripped and fell face-first into the ground. Bendu lumbered to her, stopping just over her as she got up and dusted the dirt off her new clothes. "Oops, I got dirty. I did, I did."

"You always fall and get dirty. Why worry now?"

"My dress is a gift. Can't get a gift dirty. No, no, no."

Bendu was going to laugh when suddenly thunder was heard in the distance. Nitza gasped and stood up, looking at the sky. "Wh-where did that come from?" She asked seeing nothing but clear skies above her.

Bendu looked up and used his height to spot over the tree line, in the distance, a bunch of storm clouds rolling in. "A storm is coming," he said for the first time in shock.

"Bb-but storms come in cold season. It's warm."

"This is not a normal storm."

Another distant rumble was heard. Nitza gave a yelp and ran to Bendu, colliding into the thick fur on his chest.

Bendu reached down and grabbed her to set her on top of his head. He turned around to head over to the Pit, saying ton Nitza. "Let us take shelter."

Nitza gave a small, "Uh-huh," as she laid down on his head in comfort. As Nitza worried about the storm coming, Bendu wondered why it was coming in the first place. Nitza was right. The storms were coming too early. Something was making it come early. Something was tipping the balance, and since it was a storm, it was something dark.

As the storm came over them bringing nothing but lightning, Nitza, as usual, hid in Bendu's fur covering her ears. Bendu, on the other hand, was looking out towards the sky as they took shelter to bellow Nitza's tree. He focused. The Force within him and around him all calling to him, telling him what he needed to know. The source was coming to them soon. He didn't much care for whoever or whatever brought the darkness, but he hated how it was tipping the scales of nature all around them. And not just nature.

Lightning cracked right over them and Nitza screamed, cuddling much deeper into his fur. Bendu pressed his hand closer to her back to comfort her before he rested his head on the ground to try and rest.

A couple of hours later the sun had come back and shined a light as the clouds parted and left. Nitza woke up to the light and the blue sky, seeing she had fallen asleep in Bendu's fur. She maneuvered around to look down where he had laid his head. He took had fallen sleep. Nitza giggled at the sight and climbed out of his fur and slid down his arm to land on the ground in a squat. She lost balance, fell back, but got back up again. She went up to Bendu and patted him on the side of his head. "Sleepy, sleepy…."

Bendu's eyes opened wide and he raised his head up all of a sudden, letting out a snort that blew mucus and air everywhere. Nitza got slightly dirty, but it was enough for her to say, "Ew….. Bendu…."

"Sorry, Nitza. I was startled awake."

"Startled? By me? I never scare you."

Bendu shook his head to clear out the grogginess before freezing when he realized Nitza had a point. Even though Nitza would spook him out of play, she knew that he only reacted out of pretending sometimes. So what did wake him?

The sound of a speeder was heard from over the rise of the Pit. For a second, Nitza became worried, wondering if it was Hera looking for her again. Thankfully, it was just Kanan, and someone else riding the speeder. They had a white helmet with a visor and an orange symbol on the side. Nitza realized the one in the helmet was Ezra judging by his clothes. "Kanan, Ezra! Hi, hi!" She yelled as the speeder came down the side of the pit and parked at the base.

Ezra pulled off his helmet as he climbed off the speeder. "Hey, Nitza, good to see you." Nitza looked at him worried. There was something off about him. Was he tired?

Kanan climbed off after. Feeling Bendu was up and awake already, he said, "Bendu, you knew we were coming."

"Yes…" Bendu said, slightly annoyed. Now he knew why he had woken up. "You're not exactly quiet creatures."

Nitza put her hands over her mouth to hold back a laugh. She managed to say through her struggle, "He's just grumpy because he was sleeping and he woke up."

Bendu smiled and looked down at her, "Every creature deserves their rest. Even the most energetic ones like you."

"Yeah, but you sleep forever…." She let herself fall back so that she sat down on her bottom, legs spread out, and said looking up, "Forever, and ever, and ever…"

"Quite the exaggeration," Bendu finished light-heartedly before looking at Kanan and Ezra again. He waited to hear what they had come to say.

Kanan put a hand on Ezra's shoulder and said, "Tell him what's happening."

"The Darkside wielder I told you about, the one I told you wanted to join the Holocron's together. I've seen him here on Atollon."

Nitza gasped and stood up quickly. A Bogan, here in her home. Nitza looked around trying to see if she could spot the said person. Feeling her fear rise quickly, Bendu reached down and put a hand right by her so that she could hold on to it in comfort. Then he said to Kanan and Ezra peeved, "I warned you. Joining the Holocrons could bring both great wisdom and great danger."

"I know, I felt their power… and I did see things but my vision was… incomplete."

He didn't like the sound of that. If it was incomplete, and Ezra was seeing visions on the darksider, it could only mean one thing. But he had to know for sure. "Incomplete?" Bendu asked.

"Yeah, I let go before either one of us got the answers we wanted. And then the Holocron's were destroyed."

Bendu's theory was confirmed. "Ahaaaaa… " He stroked the beard on his face, amused at what he heard. It had been a while since he'd seen such phenomena. "Well, that's not good."

"What do you mean that's not good?" Kanan asked. "What should we do?"

Bendu didn't think this situation could be further helped by him. The wanted help, not answers. So he asked them, "What do you want to do?"

"I want to stop seeing Maul," Ezra insisted.

The split-second Bendu had to think, he felt it, a dark presence. So close, he could see it coming. Bendu was a creature of balance. The Bogen was abusing the power that could further their vendetta's. Bendu wasn't going to be a part of that. Bendu didn't look down, but he knew he would have to do something risky in order to not be seen. Even if it meant leaving little Nitza behind, for she did not have powers like him. "Then don't turn around," he finished.

As Kanan and Ezra turned around (to Bendu's annoyance of being ignored), Bendu disappeared. Nitza gasped and looked around. Bendu was no longer there. Knowing he only did this to her for play, Nitza knew it wasn't time for games. So something was wrong. "Be-Bendu…."

"Bendu, what should we—" Nitza heard Kanan say before he cut himself off. Nitza looked back at them, then at someone who had suddenly appeared over the hill behind them. And the most striking thing Nitza saw wasn't the color of his skin, or how he walked. His bright yellow eyes said everything. "Bogan…" Nitza whispered.


	47. The Bogan Man part 2

Nitza froze seeing the red and black striped skinned man come down the hill. She'd imagine people of Bogan as something visually scary. Like a monster with features such as big sharp horns or fierce claws. Yes, he had horns, but that wasn't what made him scary. This man, this… Was unlike Bogans she had imagined… and much worse. He walked in a gate as if he were walking with something heavy on him. His clothes were simple and he looked defenseless. But after seeing his piercing yellow eyes, Nitza knew he was deceptive. This was the Bogan Ezra was talking about. Maul.

As he came down the hill, the Bogan man said to Kanan and Ezra, "This is a strange place. So remote. Oh yes, it is." He came to stand in front of them. "The Empire will definitely have a hard time finding you here…" He paused as he noticed Nitza was there alongside Kanan and Ezra. He added with a raised eyebrow, "And imagine their surprise when they see children here as well-"

Immediately, Ezra and Kanan pulled out their lightsabers, standing side by side, making sure Nitza was safely behind them. Ezra let his helmet drop and Nitza quickly dropped down to pick it up in her hands. Why? She didn't know. Perhaps for comfort now that this Bogen man knew she existed.

Maul said, "You think I came here to fight? I came here to speak." He moved on to stand in front of Ezra, ignoring Kanan. "With my apprentice…" he added.

Nitza was confused. Kanan was Ezra's master, right? Kanan growled, "He's not your apprentice."

"Yet."

"How did you find me?" Ezra asked, deactivating his lightsaber.

Nitza barely understood what was going on, she was too afraid this Bogan man would somehow turn around from his defenseless demeanor and attack. But what she heard, she had a feeling it wasn't good. All she could do was stay kneeled and keep the helmet close to her as she listened to what happened next. The Bogan man went on explaining how he had found Ezra on Atollon. He said their minds were connected the second Ezra pulled away from the Holocrons to early. They each had fragments of the wisdom they wanted to learn, but Ezra got Maul's fragments, and Maul had Ezra's. The boy told Maul he had no way of understanding what fragments he had, to which Maul proposed for Ezra to come with him and finish what they started. But Ezra wasn't having it, "So you can get your answers," Ezra said harshly as he stepped back and crossed his arms, "But what do we get out of it?"

"I will keep the secret of your rebel base?" the Bogen man said as if questioning what he said was good enough bargain.

Kanan was quick to respond, "No deal, you're not walking off this rock in one peace." Kanan walked forward, lightsaber still blazing as he pointed it towards Maul. The Bogan man stepped back to avoid getting event nicked by the sword. But suddenly he pulled out a device, showing it to Kanan and Ezra. "I have planted a beacon nearby. Strike me down and it will activate revealing your presence to the Empire." Kanan hesitated, stopping his march on Maul. Nitza looked between him and Ezra. They were both worried about the idea of the Empire finding them. Nitza frowned, dwelling a little while on the fact her father was once from this Empire. The Bogan man continued, "You have knowledge that is rightfully mine. I have knowledge that you want. The key to defeating the Sith."

Sith, that was a term Bendu had used loosely when describing the Bogan to Nitza. Hearing it from the Bogan man himself, she was slightly confused. The Bogen man was ok with the Bogan being defeated? Also, how was it possible? Bendu always said that there had to be a balance between the two. There are always fighters for the light and the dark. Whatever Maul said next, Nitza didn't hear. She just heard Ezra say right after, "All right."

Kanan deactivated his lightsaber and pulled Ezra aside to where Nitza was. Nitza took the chance to stand up and get close to Kanan for comfort. Kanan didn't pull her way, in fact, he was more focused on pointing a finger at Ezra and saying, "Ezra, you are NOT doing this."

"He'll expose Chopper base," Ezra reasoned.

"We'll move. Build a new base."

Nitza's eyes widened. She pleaded, "Don't go. No, no, no…." She knew right away it was selfish to ask, but she had to speak the truth.

Kanan and Ezra were a bit shocked, hearing her for the first time since Maul had shown up. Ezra said, "Nitza's right. We can't go. We worked so hard to find this planet. Look, Maul won't hurt me, Kanan. He needs me. Besides, this might be our last chance to find out how we can destroy the Sith."

"Huhhh…." Kanan groaned, feeling defeated. "I do not like this. But we really don't have another choice, do we?"

Nitza knew she wasn't the one being asked, but she really didn't like the idea of Ezra going with the Bogan man. Even if she didn't know exactly what was going on. "Do we?" She asked with a slight mumble.

Having overheard them, Maul rolled his eyes at what Nitza had said. "Always the young ones and their trivial questions…." he muttered. Having been addressed, Nitza froze. Her tension was felt in waves by everyone.

Kanan reached down and put an arm on her back to reassure her. Ezra kneeled down and said to her with the best smile he could muster at the moment, "Ignore him. I'll be ok Nitza. Just think of this as one of our other missions. We always come from those."

The girl looked between Ezra and the Bogan man behind him. His bright yellow eyes looked at her as if they were able to see right through her. It scared Nitza, so she focused back on Ezra. He had kept his smile, and it was enough to bring her a little confidence. Nitza nodded, understanding what Ezra wanted her to do. To trust him. He was a fighter for Ashla. A Jedi. He didn't have to say the same to Kanan. Kanan was his master after all. "I'm going to trust you on this," He said to the boy as Ezra stood up.

Ezra nodded and turned around to Maul, "All right. We have a deal."

A giant ship suddenly appeared out of the horizon and began to land by turning and opening the ramp behind. Nitza had never seen such a thing. The cockpit was smaller than the wingspan. The tips sharp, making it look menacing to the girl. He said, "Let us go, my apprentice."

As Maul moved towards the ship, Nitza held out Ezra's helmet to the boy. Ezra didn't take it. Instead, he pushed it gently back to her and said, "Hang on to it until I get back, ok?"

"Ok…." Nitza said with struggled calm. She heled the helmet tight as Ezra walked after Maul.

The two boarded the ship, leaving Kanan and Nitza behind to watch helplessly as Ezra went with Maul. As the ramp closed, Kanan faced Nitza and said, "Is Bendu coming back for you?"

Nitza was too stunned at what happened to answer. All she could do was look around for Bendu. She knew he didn't like to be seen, and he had the power to remain unnoticed. He could become one with the Force, just like he had done now. But he knew Nitza didn't have the power, so how could he leave her? Maybe Bendu had trusted the Jedi to make sure Nitza would be ok. Still, Nitza felt…. alone. Feeling Nitza's sadness grow, and hearing the girl's breathing accelerate in stress, Kanan was quick to say, "Hey, hey, it's ok." He put an arm around her and pulled her to his side as he walked her to his speeder. "Come back to the base for now. We'll make sure you're not alone, ok?"

Nitza could only nod and hold Ezra's helmet tighter. Kanan pushed the speeder as fast as it could go as Nitza held on to him with one arm around his waist from behind. She used to enjoy the speeder the first time. The second time, the situation was different. Nitza didn't say a word.

**)))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron (((((((((((((**

Sabine was in the main landing area below Chopper Base. She was on top of the new ship, the Phantom II, and fixing it when Kanan rode in from the wilds. She looked up to see Kanan and her mouth dropped open when she spotted Nitza with him.

She quickly jumped off the ship and ran to them as Nitza and Kanan climbed off.

Sabine saw Nitza's distant look and her fixed posture as she held Ezra's helmet. Sabine kneeled down as she put her hands on the little girl's shoulders. "Nitza are you ok, what's wrong?" Sabine said.

Kanan answered, "I was right. Maul did come for Ezra. Nitza happened to be there when he came."

"Is she hurt?" Sabine asked as she looked all over the girl. She looked fine physically but mentally Nitza was elsewhere.

"No, we kept Maul's focus on us. It didn't matter, he was after Ezra."

Seeing that Nitza was ok and well, Sabine focused on what Kanan had asked of her earlier, "I'm tracking Ezra's signal. They just got into hyperspace."

"Let's get going, I don't want to lose them." Kanan had Nitza face him as he said, "Nitza, go find Hera or Zeb. Tell them what's going on and stay with them, all right?"

"You-you're leaving too…," Nitza said, almost teary-eyed. "No, no, don't go—"

Sabine assured her in a gentle tone, "We'll be back soon, we promise."

Nitza nodded and then ran to go look for Hera and Zeb. As Kanan and Sabine ran into the Phantom II, Kanan said, "Can't imagine what Nitza's thinking…. For someone her age….. meeting someone like Maul."

"He's probably nothing but a monster to her," Sabine said as they got in and she closed the ramp. "And I know the feeling."


	48. The Bogan Man part 3

Nitza ran around the base of High Trees until she saw the Ghost. Relief washed over the girl as she saw Hera, Zeb, and Chopper standing just outside the ramp. She ran to them. Seeing her come at full speed, Hera and Zeb both said in wonder, "Nitza?"

The little girl said nothing but wrapped an arm around Hera's waist so that she would feel some sort of reassurance. Hera put her arms around Nitza, feeling she had to be comforted, and said, "Nitza, what's wrong?" Zeb kneeled down and put a hand on the girl's back to help comfort her as well. He noticed what was under her left arm. "Ezra's helmet? Where'd you get it?"

Nitza said stuttering, "He gave it—I didn't—Maul came-"

"Maul?" Hera gasped as she then kneeled herself to look at Nitza.

"That's why Kanan and Ezra were out," Zeb said with realization to Hera. "They knew that creep was coming and didn't want us there."

Hera looked worried but focused on Nitza. "Ok, hun, take deep breaths and explain. Take your time."

Nitza's took a deep breath and told them, "Kanan and Ezra came to where I was. Maul found us there. He di-did-He said he had something Ezra wanted and Ezra had something he wanted. But Ezra would have to go with him. Kanan didn't want him to, no, no, no, but Maul had a way of telling the Empire where you are."

"Must be because of what happened with those Holocrons…." Zeb concluded.

"And Maul must have had a beacon ready to relay signals to the Empire if Ezra said no," Hera growled.

Nitza continued, "I didn't want him to, no-no I didn't- but Ezra said he had to. And then Kanan and Sabine followed them. They told me to tell you. Both of you."

"They left without us?" Hera exclaimed.

"Karabast," Zeb cursed, "What were they thinking?"

Chopper said something in droid speak that made Hera and Zeb visibly wince.

Nitza didn't know what else to say. That was it. But the look of distraught on their faces made her feel so much more worried then she was earlier. As if they knew something was going to happen. Nitza grabbed Ezra's helmet closer and stuttered, "Is-is something going to happen to them?"

"No, honey, no—" Hera stopped. She could say just that but she wasn't sure. Hera was worried about the others just as much. She said, "They know they have to come back, and with Ezra. They'll have to be ok."

Nitza felt like she could relax, but then she realized something else, a scary possibility. "Wi-will Maul come back too?"

"I hope after whatever happens, he leaves us alone," Hera assured.

"And if he comes back, I'll make sure he doesn't lay a finger on ya', all right?" Zeb added, confidence in his voice.

Nitza nodded but said nothing. All she could do was go towards Hera for a hug. Knowing what Nitza needed, Hera let the girl come and she wrapped her arms around the little girl. "You're ok. You're safe here." Chopper came from behind and patted the girl on the back with a metal arm.

**)))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron (((((((((((**

Hera, Zeb, and Chopper tried to occupy themselves and Nitza with a lesson. They tried to talk about Nitza's favorite subjects such as the environment, but Nitza barely managed to pay attention. They tried teaching her something new but she never even asked questions. Seeing they couldn't get anywhere with her, Hera, Chopper, and Zeb went on to do their chores around the base. They prompted Nitza to come along with them but she didn't feel like following them around. Not wanting to push her, the group left Nitza at the ramp of the Ghost, still holding onto Ezra's helmet. At one point, Hera went by, seeing the girl sitting there, cross-legged, with the helmet on her lap. A while after Hera left, Zeb had come by. He saw the girl laying down on the ramp, sleeping with the helmet still in her hands.

Zeb left what he was doing and went up to the girl. He kneeled down to pick her up in his arms. She stirred awake as Zeb adjusted her to lay sitting up against his chest as he held her from her bottom with one arm. Nitza's eyes fluttered as she said with a groggy tone, "Zeb…?"

With the other hand, Zeb grabbed Ezra's helmet and gave it to Nitza to hold as he said, "Just sleep, kid…."

Nitza made no argument and closed her eyes again as she rested her head on his shoulders. Zeb set her down to sleep on one of the chairs in the cockpit, the girl resting as she curled up against the backrest. Helmet in hands.

**))))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((**

Nitza slept for what felt like days. She had been tired from all the stress, she barely remembered falling asleep. She even forgot Zeb had moved her to sleep inside the ship until she was fully awoken when someone shook her awake. Nitza's eyes opened, seeing nothing but a blur before her eyes adjusted the colors to shapes, then a face. "Hey, Nitza…" Ezra said as he leaned over her.

Nitza's eyes widened and she yelled, "EZRA!" She reached and grabbed Ezra in a hug around the shoulders. Ezra was forced to kneel so that he wouldn't fall, but he didn't care. He was happy about the welcome. He returned the hug with his own. "You're ok," Nitza said with a smile. She looked behind Ezra and saw Sabine and Kanan standing there. "You're all ok! You're ok! You're ok!" She said as she pulled away from Ezra and looked at them all. Hera, Zeb, and Chopper were there too.

Kanan said, "Hera told us how worried you were. We didn't mean to do that to you—"

Hera forcefully cleared her throat as Zeb crossed his arms. Kanan bit his lip nervously and added, "To any of you. There was just no other way."

Nitza shook her head and said, "I'm just happy you're ok, yep, yep, yep! Oh-!" Nitza grabbed Ezra's helmet and handed it to him.

Ezra was shocked, saying, "Hey…. You…. you held on to it."

"You told me to. You did, you did."

"Yeah I did, I just didn't think…." Ezra faltered when he grabbed the helmet and then looked at Nitza. He put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Thank you, Nitza. It means a lot."

Nitza smiled, feeling proud for once. Then she frowned and asked, "What about the Bogan man?"

Zeb gave a short laugh, "Ha! Bogan man…"

Ezra said, "Don't worry. Maul won't be coming back. He got what he wanted."

"What happened?"

"Nothing you wanna know, believe me," Sabine said, shuddering at a thought.

"Oh…" Nitza's eyes drifted and she looked outside. It was dark. "Oh no!"

Nitza jumped off the chair and headed towards the ladder to go down. "What?" Hera asked. "What's wrong?"

"I have to go. Be—I mean—the one who takes care of me. He'll be worried. Oh no, oh no, oh no…."

"Do you want someone to take you back—"

"Hera…" Kanan warned. Hera looked at him, annoyed.

Nitza said, "I know where to go. Thank you!" Nitza climbed down the ladder. "Bye!"

"Bye…" Hera said, faltering.


	49. Worries and Whys

Nitza ran through the darkness of the coral forest. She made it as far as the grove where the seed fruit grew before three krykna came out of tunnel entrances. Nitza stopped and smiled, feeling a bit of familiarity and welcome. "Hello." They came to her side as she continued to walk towards the Pit. When they got to the edge of the deep ground, the krykna waited as Nitza spotted a clump of coral out of place in the middle of the Pit. Nitza said to the krykna, "Thank you." The Krykna all turned around and scurried back to their homes.

Nitza stepped down and began to run towards the clump. But as she got closer she let certain thoughts cross her mind. She frowned and began to slow down. She came to walk and then a halt right as she got in front of the odd clump of coral. Nitza hung her head and said sadly, "Why did you leave me?"

The large clump suddenly began to shake and move. Bendu rose from his camouflage stat and stood up, knuckles to the ground as he gave his head a shake. Dust fell like rain on Nitza but she made no attempt to move away. She just shook her own head of dust and brushed her hand over her hair as she looked up at Bendu. The giant stared down at her, sympathy as well as a sullen look. He said, "I knew the darksider would want to fight if it were to see me. I am not one to fight on my own behalf. I fight for the balance."

"Why not take me with you? Why, why?"

Bendu raised an eyebrow. "You know it wouldn't have been possible. You do not have the same abilities as me. How could you disappear?"

"How could you disappear without me?" Nitza looked down again.

Bendu was a bit annoyed that she had asked the same question but he realized by the tone of her voice…. She didn't. She wasn't asking why he left. She was asking how Bendu could just leave her. Bendu tried to explain. "I knew the Jedi would protect you." No, no, no, he couldn't' say that. The Master and Padawan were still imbalanced. They could not defeat the darksider and make sure Nitza be safe. The chances had been small. Nitza was lucky Maul wasn't thinking to fight today. The Force side of Bendu knew that thinking about Nitza's safety like this was irrational. Yet…. the other side of Bendu, a part of him, was relieved to see she was all right. The other side that did trust the Jedi would protect Nitza.

Hearing what Bendu said, Nitza smiled. "Really?"

"Yes…." Bendu said a bit unsure.

Nitza giggled and ran up to his left hand, wrapping her arms around his thumb. "You were right Bendu, they did keep me safe" Bendu let out a sigh, satisfied she was happy but feeling something else. Guilt?

Nitza yawned. Taking the opportunity to end the conversation, Bendu said, "Bedtime, young one.

Nitza tried to shake the tiredness as she stood tall and said, "I'm not tired. I slept already."

"Oh really?" Bendu asked with a smirk.

"Yep, I was waiting for Ezra, Kanan, and Sabine to come home."

Bendu froze hearing the last word. "Home?" He repeated.

"Home! Here! I worried the Bogan would hurt them but they all came back."

Not wanting to give his surprise away, Bendu asked about the second most surprising thing she said, "So the master went after the apprentice. Did the boy get what he wanted?"

"I don't know, but I guess….. And maybe that means Maul got what he wanted and all the bad stuff is over. Yep, yep, yep. No more Bogan here!"

Even though the news slightly piqued Bendu's interest, Bendu was still shocked about Nitza's statement. Nitza considered Atollon home. Sure, that was something she had always said, but with the strangers here now…

Bendu's thoughts strayed away as Nitza yawned. Bendu shook his head and said, "You did not sleep enough. To your hollow now…"

"Ok…" Nitza said, pretending to be disappointed

**))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron ((((((((((((((**

Hera went room to room, checking on everyone. Zeb was obviously sound asleep. He could sleep through a storm. She worried about Ezra, though. The visions of Maul earlier had made it hard for him to even sleep. But there he was, eyes closed, and even with a smile. Whatever happened with Maul on Dathomir, it stopped his nightmares. Then there was Sabine. Hera left the boys and walked across to the Mandolorian's room. Sabine had been acting strange since she had come back. Maybe it was the Nightsister ghost that took over her body on Dathomir…. or something else. Hera saw the girl sleeping soundly. Whatever it was, it didn't bother Sabine anymore.

The door to Kanan's room slid open. Hera looked and saw the blind man walk to her. "Hey, you're still up?"

"I'm not the one who needs the rest. You had to fight Maul."

"That wasn't me. That was a crazy dead witch."

"Right…"

"Though I should be the one talking to you. About Nitza."

Hera sighed and said, "I know she said her caretaker was shy or anti-social but… but I don't buy it for a minute. I'm not saying she's intentionally lying, but maybe she was forced to say that."

"She speaks highly of her caretaker. Do you really think someone who is forced to do something by someone would say anything nice about them?"

"I guess not." Hera raised an eyebrow. "How are you not freaked out about this?"

"I just trust her."

"Ugh-ha, sure. She told you something, didn't she?"

"She didn't have to tell me anything."

"Have to? She didn't tell you but you found out someway. So who is he?"

Kanan sighed getting quiet for a few moments before asking Hera, "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you but—wait—n—"

"Then you don't need to know," Kanan said with a smile.

"Kriff…" Hera muttered. "And I don't usually fall for it. Ok fine, I trust you, but is Nitza safe?"

"Definitely."

Hera raised her hands up in surrender. "All right. But if there is a problem," She leaned close to him and jabbed a finger into his chest. "I'll be taking that information from you."

"Well, hold on—"

"Taking…. IT" She emphasized as she jabbed her finger harder before turning around.

"Ok," Kanan said without another word to follow.


	50. Under the Weather part 1

Nitza returned the next day and did so every other few days for a lesson. It went on like that for a week or two. One day she came to High Trees after having learned a few days before about ranks. She wanted to learn more about what made someone a leader over another. But when she got to High Trees she didn't see the Ghost. It was the second time she came to the base of the large cluster of coral without seeing the giant freighter. "Another mission," Nitza said as she shrugged. Before she turned to leave, Nitza decided instead of going back to Bendu and wait a couple of days, she would find someone she knew. Wedge? Iron Squadron? Housen?

Nitza went past a couple of pilots who were around their A-Wings and Bombers. Going up towards the first floor then second, she found herself in the control area. People were walking about as usual. Many busy, many talking. Though there weren't many who were around as usual. Nitza walked to the main control panel to see if she knew anyone who was there. There was one.

"Sato…" She said. She liked the man, but she was always intimidated by his poise. Why was he always so… stiff? Was it because of his rank? She learned about it. Commander… Ok so maybe Hera was a bit more relaxed because she was captain, a little bit below Sato. But just because of rank, it didn't mean he had to be so stiff. Right? Nitza took a breath and walked to Sato.

The Commander had his back to her as he stood on the other side of the hologram table. After he was done looking at his datapad, he turned around to look at the map over the table. Sato's eyes skimmed the details but suddenly something on the other side caught his eye. He turned off the map and slightly jumped back to see Nitza's eyes peeking over the edge of the table.

The man quickly regained his composure and said, "Miss Nitza… it is… surprising to see you… here…." Nitza blinked. Sato waited for a response bit when he got none he said, "Well, um, Captain Syndulla and her crew are on an important off-world mission and won't be expected to come back for the whole day. My nephew is with his crew on another mission…." Since she continued to stare, he stopped to say, "I do not think I can help you with anything."

Nitza stepped back and asked, "Are there lots of missions? Lots and lots?"

Sato blinked this time but said, "There are many of our teams on the missions, but some are currently in the med bay of the main cruiser getting checked up."

"Why?"

"After helping establish a base on an ice moon one of our members got a cold and it's spreading to those who aren't used to living in cold conditions."

So much of that sentence was a whirlwind for her, but one stuck to Nitza. "What's a cold?"

"A kind of sickness."

"Sickness…" Nitza pondered. That sounded familiar. She tried to remember, but a gut feeling told her it was bad.

"Sir," came someone, a pilot, with a helmet and visor down. Nitza watched as woman stopped just next to her to address Sato and say, "Your presence is needed at the brig of the Carrier."

"Tell them I will be there shortly—"

He was interrupted when the woman sneezed. Though she sneezed into the crook of her arm, it was still close enough that Nitza ducked down out of the way. The woman stood up and said, "Sorry, sir."

"Accepted, but please do get checked out before you continue your day. I don't want that to turn into this cold spreading around."

"Yes, sir." As the woman left, Nitza stood up and watched her go.

Sato saw Nitza stand and said, "It is best you come back in a few days, wait for this cold to stop spreading. By then the crew of the Ghost will be here for sure."

In the excitement of seeing her friends, Nitza never thought to ask more about sicknesses and what the sneezing was all about. She just smiled excitedly and said, "Ok! Bye, bye!"

Bendu was surprised Nitza returned to the pit so quickly, but when he saw her on the hill waving to him excited, he never got to ask. She yelled out, "Come on! Let's go play! Let's play! Play!" She was off, never thinking if Bendu wanted to join in on her fun or not. But he had nothing else to do. Not that it matters. The Bendu can't get bored. But he can move around. So up he was.

Nitza ran down a spacious path between two forests of coral trees on either side of her. She soon felt heavy footsteps catching up with her and she looked back with a smile. She was met with Bendu's face down right behind her. She laughed. He did too as he raised his head up and looked on as he lumbered quickly behind her.

Soon she went into the forest on the left and tried to hide among the trees. She giggled and looked out into the path. She didn't see where Bendu went, but she knew he couldn't have gone far. Nitza hid behind a trunk of a coral tree and smiled. She tried to stay quiet, but suddenly, she sneezed. Quickly she covered her nose but it was too late. Suddenly, the tree next to hers moved and Nitza noticed it was a giant arm. She gave an excited yelp as she saw more of Bendu through the camouflage. She looked up at his head and saw him smile and say, "Found you."

"The sneeze gave it away," she pouted.

"Not entirely."

Nitza giggled and closed her eyes. "Now you hide." After ten seconds of silence, Nitza opened them and looked around. She tried to find him within her reach, then she decided to look further on. She came to a small clearing and saw random clusters of coral bushes. Large ones, as big as Bendu. She giggled, going up to one that was more oddly shaped than the rest. She ran up to it and was about to say something when she sneezed.

Bendu moved, making Nitza step back as the giant began to stand up from his curled position. He looked down and asked, "Are you all right?"

"Yep," Nitza said, sniffing. "Just… lots and lots of boogers."

Bendu winced at Nitza words, "Nitza…"

"Hehehe, sorry."

Bendu wondered how Nitza could be sneezing so much all of a sudden. There wasn't much dust or pollen. He was distracted when Nitza said, "My turn, I hide! Yep, yep, yep!" she ran to the trees

Bendu shook his head but smiled. He disappeared to follow her.

After an hour or so, Nitza suddenly began to get tired. A little too tired for just an hour of play. As Nitza rode on Bendu's head on the way back to the Pit, Bendu asked, "How come such a short day at High Trees?"

"Ghost wasn't there. No, no, no. Big mission."

"Anyone else?"

"Never got to ask. Never, never." She laid down on her back to look at the sky. "They said I had to go because of sickness."

"Sickness?" Bendu asked surprised, his lumbering slowed down.

"I don't know what it is. It's bad. Yep, yep, yep."

"But you must know what it is, to know why it's bad."

"Oh, do you know?" Nitza asked surprised as she laid down on her stomach again to look over Bendu's head.

Bendu snorted. Of all the things they didn't teach her…. "Of course," he said in a matter of factly, "Sickness is when you feel ill, you feel weak, bad."

"Oh, then many people at High Trees are feeling bad."

"Many?"

"Some. Sato said they are being checked up." Nitza gave a small sneeze before continuing. "What is checkup?"

"They are making sure they get better." And they better be, Bendu thought. Because it seemed Nitza had gotten sick now. Bendu had always made sure Nitza was healthy so he didn't have to deal with her getting sick, but of course… beings…. All he could do was one thing, hopefully it was enough. When they got to the Pit, Bendu said, "Off to bed."

"But the sun is just setting…" Nitza said, lazily. "It's not bedtime yet…" Bendu used the force to lift Nitza off his head. She exclaimed, "Hey!" He set her down on her leaflet outside her hollow. Nitza stood up. "I could have gotten off."

"I know, but rest now."

"Why?"

"Because you might be sick."

"I am? How do you know?"

"Did Sato mention sickness could be contagious?"

"He said spreading… is that what contagious means? Sickness spreads? Does it, does it?"

"Yes, now bed. Resting will keep it at bay."

"Ok,"


	51. Under the Weather part 2

A couple of days went by since the mission to Geonosis, and the Ghost crew had been feeling anything but satisfied. Not that the mission was a failure, it just didn't go the way as planned, and then some. Even if they had seen people like Saw Gerrera before, it was still… breaking. For Ezra especially, it just showed how bad an obsession can be, almost hurting innocent lives. Innocence, they hadn't seen that in a while.

Ezra was looking out into the horizon of Atollon as he sat on the Ghost. The ship had docked on the second floor of Chopper Base and hadn't moved since. Not that anyone cared to move it. It wasn't in the way, and everyone was either busy on missions or getting cured of the cold. The Ghost crew had managed to keep from getting the cold with the resources they had but since there were no missions for them, that was all they could do while sulking around thinking about Geonosis.

It was so slow, that as Ezra thought he suddenly realized something as he sat there. "Where's Nitza?"

"What?"

Ezra turned around and looked down into the hatch he came up through. Kanan was down in the hall looking up through the hatch. Ezra said, "Oh, just talking to myself. Has Nitza come by recently?"

"No. Funny you should ask though. Commander Sato told Hera and she came while we were in Geonosis, told her to wait a few days until the cold spell was done."

Ezra raised an eyebrow. "Hmmm…." Ezra maneuvered himself so he went feet first down the hatch so that he landed in a squat before Kanan. As he stood up, the boy said to the man, "It's been four days then. That's longer then she's gone before.

"It is odd," Kanan said, "Maybe she's afraid to come back. Don't know what she knows about sickness, but maybe Sato scared here away with the idea."

"Maybe we should go find her, reassure her that it's ok. Just as long as she's on this ship and not with anyone contagious." Ezra was already heading down the hall to the cockpit.

Kanan crossed his arms as he followed after him. "You were going to do so anyway."

"It's been a while," Ezra said as he and Kanan walked into the cockpit. "And this ship has been feeling so… mopey. You know since Geonosis." Ezra began to climb down the ladder.

Kanan sighed and climbed down after him. When they got down to the cargo hold, he put a hand on Ezra's shoulder, "I hear ya."

After informing Hera and the others they were getting Nitza, Ezra and Kanan rode down the familiar hidden path to the pit formation. When they got there, the noon sun gave light to… nothing. It was quiet and empty. The two stopped their speeders on the edge and climbed down the side of the hill. Ezra spoke up, "Nitza said she would sometimes go out with Bendu into the wilderness."

"No, she's here," Kanan assured.

There was a sneeze from up one of the trees. "Was that—" Ezra began before suddenly the ground shook and one of the coral bushes formed Bendu. He stood up and turned to face them.

With a booming voice, he said, "I was wondering when your own curiosity would be as strong as Nitza's to venture out for her."

"How'd you know we'd come for her?" Ezra asked.

Another sneeze came, this time audible enough Kanan and Ezra could pinpoint the source. A tree on the left side of pit. Bendu walked over to the tree but said to the two Jedi, "You worried, it's only natural for beings to worry."

Ezra said, "Well we weren't worried, we just wondered if she was…. Worried…" he faltered before looking wide-eyed

Kanan got the message. Bendu was assuming they were worried, why? "Where is she?" Kanan asked.

Bendu motioned with his head up to a coral tree next to him. "In her hollow, resting."

Resting. At noon, that wasn't like Nitza at all. "I'll check on her," Ezra said as went up to the tree. He began to jump from leaf to leaf, using the Force to give him some spring. Soon he was on the leaflet growing right outside a hollow in the trunk. "So that's where she sleeps," Ezra said as he went up to the entrance and got on his knees. Sure enough, when he looked in he saw Nitza. She was sleeping, but it didn't look like a peaceful rest. She was curled up, hugging herself and shivering. Ezra could see sweat accumulating on her forehead just from where he was standing. The boy felt his heart ache right there when he realized why she was looking the way she was.

"A fever, how?" Kanan asked as Bendu explained what was going on.

"She came into contact with someone with the cold. After a day or two, it had turned into a fever."

"But how did it get worse?" Kanan asked worriedly. "Was she running around in the cold night or something?"

"She has been in the warmth of her hollow and resting."

"She needs more than rest and warmth," Kanan argued.

Bendu's eyes narrowed and he grunted. "Do not say it as if I do not know, Kanan Jarrus," Bendu said, making Kanan stiffen. Bendu only said his name unless it was for greeting, or that Bendu heard something he didn't like. Kanan realized he assumed too much and quickly tried to recover from his mistake. He scratched his beard in thought before asking, "What did you tell her about recovering from sickness?"

"That she needed rest. When her sickness dragged on I also had said your people would most likely have to resources to treat her."

"So she did know she could come to us for help. Why didn't she?"

"She told me she didn't want to be bothersome. She wanted you to take care of your sick first."

Kanan shook his head and said a bit peeved, "Why didn't you tell her she could come anyway. She would never be bothersome."

"That was up to her to find out by herself. I am the Bendu…."

Kanan crossed his arms. Sure Bendu said he kept the balance and wasn't one to give his opinion. But this was Nitza and her health, he couldn't have at least tried to talk some sense to the girl. "So what did you do?" He said, trying to not sound assuming.

Bendu knew where he was getting at and he said with dignity, "I did all I could. Provided, food, water, and warmth when she asked."

Ezra squeezed in through the large hole and crawled on his hands and knees to get next to Nitza in the tight space. He hunched over her and put a hand on the girl's forehead to check her temperature. Hot, almost burning. As he did, Nitza's eyes fluttered open. Her eyes turned up to him, looking confused. "Ezra…. Is that… you…" She asked, her voice hoarse

Ezra smiled and said, "Yeah, it's me. Don't worry. How are you feeling?"

"Cold, tired." She said. Suddenly she closed her eyes tight as she coughed fiercely. When she was done, she said, "I don't like being sick."

Ezra smirked and said, "It sucks, I know. But we're going to get you back to base. Make you feel better." Nitza didn't seem to hear that last part because she didn't respond. She just closed her eyes again as Ezra did his best to pick the girl up in the tight space. As he did, he noticed something shine out of the corner of his eye, the sun's light reflecting the object making Ezra turn to see what it was.

Outside, the hollow. Bendu and Kanan waited until Ezra managed to crawl out of the small hollow entrance. He struggled to get out with Nitza but when he did, Ezra stood on the leaf holding Nitza from below as she rested against his chest. He was going to jump but Bendu held out his hand. Ezra stepped on the giant's outstretched palm and then Bendu slowly lowered him to the ground. Though Ezra wanted to get excited about the idea of being lowered by a giant, Nitza moaning in his arms focused him back to the real problem. "Thanks," he said to the giant before getting off and going to the speeder.

Kanan had made no move or exchanged a word since Ezra came out with Nitza. But as he made his way to the speeders next to Ezra, he couldn't help but look back at Bendu with an unsatisfied frown. Even if he couldn't see, knowing Bendu the giant didn't react to his glance. Kanan just wanted to let him know how he felt about the choices that were made. Kanan got on his speeder as Ezra adjusted Nitza in his hold. He put one hand on her back as she hugged him and rest against his chest. His other hand held on to the speeder handle. Soon, the two were off back towards Chopper base.

**))))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((((**

Bendu turned around as they went away. It's not that he was ashamed. He wasn't. he was the Bendu, he let nature take its course. He told himself from the beginning, especially since the strangers came, that Nitza had to make her own choices. And even if he could break it all to help her, how could he? He had no medicine, no way of healing Nitza. Bendu looked back in the direction they went. He grumbled nervously. It was up to the outsiders now.


	52. Under the Weather part 3

Hera waited with anticipation at the foot of the Ghost. Zeb and Sabine were nearby getting some crates together to make makeshift tables and seats to use for the lesson. Chopper suddenly came around the Ghost, his antenna spinning as he said something in droid speak. Hera smiled at him and told the other two members, "They're coming."

Excited, Sabine and Zeb looked up, past the Transponder border and over the hill. At first, the ones waiting were all smiling as they saw Kanan and Ezra ride in on their speeders with Nitza. But then all frowned, noticing how Nitza was laying up against Ezra, eyes closed. The two Jedi stopped in front of their friends and climbed off their speeders, Ezra struggling a little with Nitza in his arms.

Hera walked up to them with Sabine and Zeb following. Kanan stopped in front of them, being the first to say, "She's got a fever. It manifested from a cold she contracted from someone here when she last visited."

Everyone surrounded Ezra, now worried as they looked at Nitza. They could hear her heavy breathing a cough came out of her, sounding hoarse and wet. Hera took her glove off to feel Nitza's sweaty forehead. "My gosh that is high," Hera said surprised as she retreated her hand.

"In the span of what, three days?" Sabine calculated, "But how?"

"She hasn't been around people for a while so she's probably not immune," Zeb suggested, "And who knows how long it's been since she got vaccinated."

"If she ever got vaccinated..." Sabine added.

Nitza suddenly stirred, giving a groan of discomfort. Hera said, "We should get her to the Medical Bay of—"

"Hera," Zeb cut her off, "She hated that place remember." Hera crossed her arms, looking at Nitza sadly as she remembered the girl's fear of waking up locked in a giant ship. "And she's only used to being in the Ghost and the Raider."

Chopper made a suggestion, to which Sabine responded, "She could stay in the Ghost, but what if we have a mission soon?"

Hera said, "Commander Sato doesn't have us scheduled for anything for the next few days, but if we do have to get called in as backup for another mission we may have to move her."

Kanan told her with a light-hearted tone, "Maybe by the time we do get called in, she'll be better and we won't have to worry."

Hera gave him a raised eyebrow, wondering why Kanan wanted to end the conversation. Then she figured it was because they should get Nitza help as soon as possible. "Ever the optimist, but ok. Ezra, hand Nitza to Zeb. I want you to go get checked up at the Medical bay to make sure you don't start developing a fever."

Ezra, who had been staring off into the distance, suddenly blinked his eyes to focus and listened in to the conversation, saying, "What?"

Everyone looked at Ezra, realizing he had not spoken since he and Kanan had come back. "Is everything ok, kid?" Zeb asked.

"Ye-no. I mean—I'm worried about Nitza." No one wanted to argue the excuse because of the pressing task they had at hand, but Kanan felt through the force there was something else going on.

Hera cut into his thoughts, "We all are, but I need you to focus. Can you go up to make sure you didn't get contagious?"

"I'm feeling fine Hera. I want to be here and help."

"And you will help, but not with you next morning coughing and sneezing. Go now. Besides, I need you to get the necessary prescriptions for Nitza to get better as well as vitamins to keep us all from getting sick since we're taking care of her."

As Ezra handed Nitza to Zeb he said determined, "Got it." He left with Zeb holding Nitza laying against his chest.

Hera then instructed the other two, "Zeb, put her down on the extra bed in my room. Get her two blankets. Sabine if you have any more old clothing left, do you mind if—"

"Of course she can wear it," Sabine assured her. "I got a long sleeve. With that and those blankets, she can sweat out that fever easier."

"Perfect," Hera said, "Please change her out of her rags into those. I'll be right with you." Taking Nitza, the two went into the Ghost, leaving Hera with Kanan. She glared at the man, and though he couldn't see, he could feel those green eyes baring down into his soul.

He slightly took a step back and asked surprised, "What did I do?"

"Nothing yet, but you will take me to this…" Hera clenched her teeth and said, "This stupid... caretaker of hers. I've had enough—"

"And I have my problems with him too. But he has his reasons. For being in the wild, with no access to medicine, there was nothing he could to for Nitza but let her try and rest."

"But waiting it out turned cold to a fever, Kanan. He never once thought to come to us?"

"He said Nitza told him she didn't want us to worry about her." Hera relaxed a bit, but still felt peeved that Nitza thought she would be a burden. Kanan put both hands on her shoulders and said, "Let's help her, ok?" He wanted the argument to stop, and Hera knew he had a reason.

**)))))))))))))))) Atollonians (((((((((((((((**

The last thing Nitza fully remembered was Ezra carrying her out of her hollow and the clinking of metal. She then went in and out of consciousness hearing voices and feeling herself being carried all around. She felt herself shiver with cold and sometimes cough or sneeze. She was still feeling sick.

When she fully awoke again she felt herself being placed by furry arms on a soft surface, sitting up against a wall. Her eyes opened to see a blur of colors in front of her as she felt herself being changed out of her old clothes. When she felt a long sleeve clothing being placed on her, that's when her eyes adjusted to see a familiar face. "Sabine?"

"Hey…" the girl said with a smile. Finished putting on the long sleeve bottoms and then said, "Lay down."

Feeling extremely tired still, Nitza didn't argue. She just let herself fall on her side on the soft, well-cushioned surface. She closed her eyes and smiled, giving a slight hum of relaxation that made Sabine chuckle a little. Hearing heavy footsteps, Nitza opened her eyes again. This time she didn't only see the newcomer, but the place she was in. The fact that Zeb was also there as well as seeing familiar grey walls kept the girl from sitting up in fear of seeing an unfamiliar space. "Is this the Ghost…." She asked groggily.

"Yep. You're in Hera's room on the spare bed." Zeb said as he placed not one but two large navy colored blankets on her. Sabine helped spread them out so they covered every inch of the little girl. Nitza gave a sigh again, feeling less cold than before and pulling the blankets closer. Then she went back to thinking about how she got there. "Where is Ezra?"

"Getting you medicine," Hera said as she walked in. Sabine and Zeb stood behind her as the women kneeled down to be eye level with the sick child. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired, tired…?" She said, slightly confused yet optimistic. She yawned, giving one last, "Tired."

Hera smiled, stroking the girl on the head and saying, "Sleep now ok, you'll probably feel better in the morning."

Nitza's mind began to spring to life a little hearing those words. Ezra said something around getting better, but Nitza couldn't grasp it fully. At first, she was ok with it but only because she could barely process it. Now that she was more awake, she realized something. She was being taken care of. No, she didn't want them to worry about her! Nitza sat up on the bed all of sudden, spooking the crew a bit. "No, no! I didn't—I don't want you to…. worry…." The sudden movement had made her dizzy and she almost fell forward. Hera caught her and gently laid her down again. Sabine fixed the blankets over her as Hera explained, "It's ok, it's ok. We want to help. Just sleep." And Nitza was out like a light.


	53. The Chain

Ezra had come back to the Ghost, cleared from being sick, and with the medicine and antibiotics needed. Hera had every crew member gathered in the cockpit as she gave them instruction. "I want everyone to take at least one tablet of vitamins a day. I don't want anyone getting sick. Got it?"

"Yeah…" Everyone said, sounded a bit bored. Kanan just nodded.

"Now, Kanan went to talk to Sato and he gave us the week off. But if we are assigned to missions as back up, we will take the Phantom 2 or the Ghost separately. That way we can have Nitza rest in whichever one stays at the base. Got it?"

"Got it," They said bored again. Kanan nodded.

Hera rolled her eyes. "Now, I'm gonna need everyone to pitch in to help Nitza—"

Everyone raised their hands and yelled, "I'll do it!" Kanan smiled.

That was quick, Hera thought. Even Chopper was raising his metal arm. "Ok, ok. Don't all throw yourself in at once. Right now Nitza just needs rest but we need people to check on her. It seems it's the first time she's been sick in… well… in a while. We need to make sure when she wakes up someone is with her, or at least nearby. We'll take shifts…."

Ezra drowned out most of what she said. He heard the basic instruction. Make sure Nitza's fed, given water, had her medication, ect. But sometimes he checked out. His mind was on something else. It still revolved around Nitza, or at least there were signs pointing to it. He raised his hand and put it over one of his pockets. It clinked. Sabine had been paying attention to Hera, but she heard it. Her eyes only darted to Ezra once before both young rebels looked back at Hera. The Twi'lek finished, "And please remind her there is a refresher to relieve herself. I don't want her to walk out of the Ghost and do it again under someone's A-wing. Any questions?"

"Can I take the first watch?" Ezra asked.

"Um, sure," Hera said. "But did you get everything."

"Yes."

"Ok, well, I guess this is when we break. Kanan, we got to check with Rex on how we'll be able to contact that new cell in the Kaller system.

Kanan stood up and together they both went down the ladder to the cargo hold below. That's when Sabine took the chance to stand in front of Ezra before he could even stand up from his chair. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Ezra tried to say, innocently.

"Nuh-huh, no—" Sabine said, waving a finger in his face. "You're going to tell me what's in your pocket, or tell me why you volunteered to help Nitza."

Ezra adjusted himself in his chair so that the pocket was hidden from Sabine's view, "I mean, we all volunteered."

"You asked to go first. Why not just wait until Hera assigned us like she always does?"

"You're just jealous I bet you to it," Ezra said with a smirk. Zeb, who had been sitting by the whole time, came and grabbed Ezra from the back color of his shirt. "Hey! You know I don't like it when you hold me up."

"Then stop holding back and show me what Sabine's talking about." Zeb put him down but it didn't give the boy a chance to make a break for it when Chopper stood between him and the hall door. Ezra was cornered. No way out but to show them. "Ok, please believe me when I saw that I volunteered because I really care for Nitza."

"We all do," Sabine agreed sincerely, "But why did you want to go first?"

"Because… because if she woke up … I wanted to ask her about this." Ezra reached into his pocket and pulled out a metal tag on a chain. The Imperial symbol was embedded into one side with numbers embedded in the back.

Zeb looked at it confused, but Sabine had a different reaction, "Where did you get it?" she demanded.

Ezra answered, "In Nitza's hollow where she sleeps out in the wilds. It was hanging on the wall with a bunch of drawings carved in the walls."

Seeing Sabine looking at the chain worried, Zeb asked, "You know what it is, don't you?"

"I remember in my earlier years of the academy. It's not an official thing so I don't really have many details on it. Archives might not even help. But if my memory serves me right, I saw certain groups of those working very closely with the Empire wearing these."

"Certain groups?"

"I mean… um… like, for example, soldiers that were always in the same group sent out to the field would join up and make tags. It was kind of a show-off thing to say they were friends and they were always picked to work the important jobs. But that's just one group. I other groups from the science facility, and there were hackers and slicers that wore them with pride. Thing is though the Empire deemed it inappropriate to wear out in public." Sabine grunted. "Another one of the Imperial ways's to say 'Individuality is Criminal'." She crossed her arms and looked on. "I was kind of bummed we couldn't do crafts like that, but I didn't complain, they were showing off after all—"

"Sabine," Ezra cut her off her rambling.

"Right sorry. What I'm trying to say is that the item was Imperial and… Nitza has it."

Everyone looked at each other, worried. Chopper said something, breaking a long silence. "No, she can't be Imperial, can she?" Ezra asked.

"Could explain why she can remember a Star Destroyer," Sabine said.

"Anyone can remember a Star Destroyer."

Zeb growled, "She can't be Imperial. Just because she has an 'Elite' status tag…thing… whatever… doesn't make her one. Nitza's too nice to have been brought up by some narcissist."

"I agree, wholeheartedly," Sabine said, sounding distant but keeping herself at the moment. "But she still could have come from one and judging by the tag, she was born into a very high ranking family."

Ezra said desperately, "But Chopper said no Imperial has ever set foot here."

Chopper warbled something that made Zeb ask, "What?"

"On record," Ezra repeated. "No Imperial has set foot here… on record." He looked down somberly. "So the Imperials could have come at one point… but why leave her?"

"Why have a kid there in the first place?" Zeb asked. "I don't think the high ranking Imperials have a bring-your-kid-to-work day."

"It must have been an accident," Sabine suggested. "I know security is high now but back then it wasn't so good. Nitza could have snuck on board, got out, and got lost."

"But what about her parents?" Ezra asked, almost longingly. "I mean, you all remember Zare Leonis and his friend Merei. They were imperial, their families too, but they all cared for one another like any other family."

"What do you mean?" Zeb asked.

"Didn't her parents care enough to come looking?" Ezra was so distraught. This girl was left without parents and raised by a force of nature that cared more about nature than a sick child.

Sabine reached out a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Ezra, they probably didn't know where to look?" Zeb's ears lowered and he looked away.

Ezra nodded, still doubting but taking it took consideration. He then held up the chain again and said, "Maybe we can get more answers by asking Nitza when she wakes up."

"You didn't ask her when you picked her up from the wild?" Zeb asked. "You said she was awake then right?"

"She was…." Ezra began, "But I…."

Zeb and Sabine looked at him angrily, "Ezra!" Chopper yelled too.

"Hey, ok, she's sick. I didn't want to bother her then. I'd thought I take it and ask her when I get a chance."

Sabine raised an eyebrow. "You want to bother her now."

"Not bother her. I'll ask her when she wakes up."

"Still sick?" Zeb asked with a raised eyebrow of his own.

"Ok, ok… I see I didn't think things through." Ezra rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"No," Sabine hissed, "And you even forgot that Nitza doesn't remember much before she came to Atollon. She might not know what that is!"

Suddenly they heard someone coming back into the cargo hold. They all became quiet as they heard Hera from down the ladder, "Sabine! Zeb! I need you two with me. We have to help get fuel into the fighters for their next run."

Ezra hissed to his friends, "We have to keep this quiet."

"Wait what?" Zeb and Sabine almost exclaimed.

"Zeb, Sabine!" Hera called out.

"On our way!" Zeb responded. "We'll meet you there."

"All right!"

When Hera was heard walking back out, Sabine asked Ezra, "Why not tell Kanan and Hera?"

"Because I didn't want to tell anyone in the first place, but you three pried it out of me." Chopper said something that Ezra said back to him, "Admit it, you would have used your Taser if I said nothing." He looked to everyone, "I wanted to wait until I had more information."

"But how? Nitza doesn't remember."

Ezra looked at the chain, defeated. Then in spotting the numbers on the tags, he got an idea. "Hey, what did you say about the tags again? They were made personally right? But how?"

Sabine said, "They would find scraps of metal and brand them themselves…. Wait…."

"Yes!"

"Fill me in please" Zeb cut in.

"If we find which metal they used, we can trace where in the galaxy the metal is distributed," Sabine said, "We can even narrow the search more. Some groups put sector numbers into their tags. We might even be lucky. If her father was a Stormtrooper, he would have put his Identification code."

"But where do you get all that info."

Sabine bit her lip then said, "Imperial Databases." At first, it seemed there was no way for that to happen, then...

Ezra and Sabine slowly looked at Zeb with a smirk. The Lasat asked, "What?" But as soon as he said it, he deadpanned and said, "Ah… Karabast."


	54. Fever Nightmare

Ezra looked at the details of the Imperial charm. There was nothing much but numbers and the Imperial symbol. Yet, he still felt angry looking at it. The Empire… how much suffering they cause. He looked up from the spot he sat on at the edge of Nitza's bed. The girl lay facing up, covered neck to toe with blankets. Ezra relaxed again, seeing the innocent girl, sick as ever, with her snores heavy with mucous creating noise around Hera's room. How could someone like her… be one of them?

Suddenly, the Force warned him. Somebody was coming. Ezra quickly stuffed the chain into his back pocket as the door's to the room slid open with Hera walking in. She said, "Ok, I'll take it from here."

"Already?" Ezra asked astounded.

"It's been two hours, Ezra. Besides, I can take over since the rest of the night I'll be here until I have to go to bed."

"Oh, right," He said, slightly disappointed. He wanted to be here when Nitza wakes up. Maybe she couldn't remember, but maybe she knew something about the chain she had.

Hera saw how his demeanor changed and she asked worried, "Everything ok?"

"Ye-yeah," Ezra answered, before walking out and leaving a confused Hera in her room.

**)))))))))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((((((((**

Nitza was in deep sleep, but that's what she felt like it was. So deep that almost everything she was seeing looked real. One moment she was running with krykna across the different path's in the forest, then she found herself in the woods peeking into dogma holes. But Nitza felt heavy, and many things were missing. Where was the feeling of the wind as she ran, the smell of dried dogma holes, and the taste of fruit seeds?

And there were some strange occurrences. Once a krykna spoke to Nitza, asking her about her day and what she would like to play. She responded like it was normal. Later, little Print marched out a forest as a giant creature. The off-colored dogma was bigger then Bendu. Nitza rode on Prints head for some time. Whenever her subconscious would remind her, she would tell herself how these were the weirdest dreams she's ever had.

At one point Nitza saw Bendu. He was in the middle of the Pit like always on a sunny day. She ran to him with glee. She was yelling out to him, but no words came out. She stopped dead at the edge of the Pit, realizing again that she was dreaming. But there he was, smiling. Bendu! She could hear herself, in her head. Suddenly the world around Nitza began to change. Large pillars of silver rock jutted out of the ground, growing taller as the terrain changed from dirt to hard metal. She saw the pillars weren't rocks. They were walls of metal with windows. She tried to remember where she had heard such a concept. Her lessons of the other worlds. Were these buildings.

With the worlds changing she no longer saw Bendu but people. So many species, she recognized some but not all. Was that what an Aqualish looked like? Transports of all shapes, sizes, and colors would hover by. Nitza looked up the sunny day which turned to night. At first, it was intimidating and wonderful at the same time, but then her heart stopped for a split second. She saw red fabric hanging from walls on the buildings. Black and white stripes on the edges. It was a symbol she had seen on her father's chain. Over the years she had forgotten it's meaning, but now as she recently heard the word in the last few months she put it all together.

Nitza looked around, nervously. Why was she here? How did she get here? Was she home? No, home was Atollon, right?

It only got worse. Suddenly she saw something. A Krykna ran out of hiding. People were suddenly screaming and running away. Nitza yelled out, "No, no, Kyrkna are friendly! Friends, friends!" But no one seemed to listen. Instead, people continued to run and transports were trying to move away. One came in at top speed towards the krykna. She didn't see who was in it, but she yelled out anyway, "NO!". Her eyes widened as she watched in horror as the small transport made contact with the krykna. A blinding white light suddenly forced the girl to shield her eyes. Nitza kept her hands over her closed eyes for a few moments, the only thought coming through was that she couldn't believe this was happening. She wished this could be nothing but a dream.

As soon as a bit of courage came back, she looked up. Nitza regretted it.

**)))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron ((((((((((((((((**

Through her two hour shift, Hera was on her datapad making last-minute pendings for future missions. Every once in awhile, Hera would look up at the sleeping girl. She would get a towel and clean the girl's forehead off of sweat she accumulated. Nitza only moved throughout her long sleep when she felt the coolness of the wet cloth on her crown. Hera smiled when she saw the girl give a small smile of her own in her unconscious state. It was all Hera could feel good about doing. She couldn't do anything else. The girl hadn't woken up to have her medicine. She would still feel bad for a while until she does wake.

**))))))))))))))))))) Atollonians (((((((((((((((((**

It was late at night, the Pit was quiet and empty. Krykna were sleeping just at the entrance of their holes to be near the fresh air. The Dogmas were the same in their little holes in the ground. Convors sleepily sat perched on the ridges of the coral leaves. Nothing could wake them. But something did wake. Bendu all of a sudden appeared, uncurling from is camouflaged form and looking up in the distance. Something was going on. It wasn't impending or powerful enough to shift the Force massively in any direction. The quiet sleeping animals around him only proving that. But Bendu still felt a strong wave of emotion through the Force. Somewhere in High Trees. Someone who was feeling despair. Bendu's eyebrows furrowed in worry.

**))))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron ((((((((((((((((**

When her shift was done Hera got into her white nightdress, taking off her headgear and making her way to her bed over the one Nitza was on. As she lay down, Hera wanted to stay up a little longer in case Nitza did wake up. But the days' events, as usual, made it easy to tire her out and she fell asleep. Thankfully she was a light sleeper because she woke up to the sound of Nitza whimpering.

**))))))))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((((((**

Nitza was on Atollon, on a path in the dark of night. The only light came from a transport caught on fire with burning bodies of people and the krykna. "No, no, no…" She whispered in denial. She had seen this. It had always been far enough in the back of her memory that when she thought of her parents, she wouldn't think about what happened that day. But seeing this event right before her eyes, it all came rushing back. Nitza didn't want to relive her parent's death, she wanted to get out of this memory. Nitza felt tears coming down her eyes. They felt light for some reason, why? She tried to wipe them away but they wouldn't come off. A dream, it had to be dream right?

She forgot yet again when she saw bodies from within the transport speeder suddenly crawl out. They walked to her in a slow, limp like state. The way they looked half-burned and dead, empty on the inside. It made them less like a being and more like a dark creature. Like Maul, their intentions felt ill-willed. In fear, Nitza wanted to run. But she was frozen. She couldn't even turn. She had to get away from these monster though. These monsters were coming after her. No, these were parents. They came from the transport. But they were back again, here. She knew they crashed. What was going on? Nitza's mind ran a million times a minute that she broke down when she heard her monster-like parents say in unison, "You do not belong with them. You are us… you are Imperial."

All her nightmares were coming true.

"NO, NO, NO!" She yelled out with her eyes full of tears.

She felt her father's strong arms grabs and shake them, "Nitza—"

"No, no!"

"Nitza—" Her mother said.

"I'm not like you, no, no, no!

"NITZA WAKE UP!"

"What?"

"NITZA-!"

She was dreaming!

Nitza blinked and she opened her eyes. She found herself sitting on the extra bed in Hera's room. Her blankets were all tangled up around her as she had her arms up defensively….. pushing away Hera. Nitza's looked at the Twi'Lek sitting at the edge of her bed. She wore some sort of white thin dress as nightwear, her headgear having been taken off. She looked tired, but more importantly, she was concerned. About what? "Nitza, you're ok," Hera tried to calm her as she rubbed her hands up and down Nitza's arms to soothe her. "It was just a nightmare, a fever dream."

Nitza looked around again as she remembered where she had been before. A nightmare? But it was so real, all so real that she had forgotten it wasn't. And then there were her parents, and what they said. Even if it wasn't real in the end, she still hated the fact that what they said could be true. Actual tears came down from Nitza's face now. Her body began to shake as she buried her face in her hands and cried out.

**)))))))))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron (((((((((((((((((((**

Hera quickly reached out and pulled the girl to her chest, hugging her close. She rubbed circles on Nitza's back as she felt Nitza's body jolt with every choking sob. Hera tried to say, "It's ok, it wasn't real. Nothing's going to hurt you, you're safe." But it didn't work at all. Nitza was still crying, leaving tear stains on Hera's nightgown. The woman sighed, knowing that it wouldn't have worked. The girl was young, and her experience of what was real or not was still developing. After all, Hera came to the girl when she was in deep sleep whimpering and calling out. Whatever her fever dream showed her, it was traumatic. It would be a while for Nitza to even speak about it. Hera could only do so much for now.

"It's ok, I'm here," Hera said as she rocked back and forth slightly, lulling the girl to calm down and sleep again. "I'm here, I'm here." Nitza's cries turn to small sobs, then hiccups. Soon, she cried herself to sleep. Hera went back to bed after she laid the girl back to rest on the bed. Peacefully though, Hera didn't know how long it would last.


	55. Recovery part 1

Ezra, Zeb, and Kanan walked into the cockpit the next morning, finding Hera and Sabine upfront with Chopper by the side. The boys walked into Sabine saying, "Oh… the poor thing…"

"What happened?" Ezra asked.

Hera explained, "Nitza had a horrible fever dream last night. I had to wake her up in the middle of the night to get her to stop writhing in her sleep."

"Karabast…" Zeb gasped.

"Were you too up all night after?" Kanan asked, concerned.

"No, she cried herself back to sleep and I managed to get some shut-eye but…" Hera faltered.

"What?"

Sabine cut in, "Hera just got called by Sato to lead a stealth mission to send relief and supplies to a nearby sector."

Hera continued, "I'm the only one who was with Nitza last night and dealt with this. When she wakes up she might be confused if I'm not there, but I have this mission—"

"Hera, we got this," Ezra assured her. "It's not like all of us were called in. We'll be there for her."

The Twi'lek smiled. They were right. They were all here. And the mission was important. Hera stood up and said, "I'll be back in a couple of hours. Sabine, Chopper, you know what to do."

When Hera left, Kanan, Ezra, and Zeb looked to Sabine and Chopper. The young woman stood up to say, "Hera told me that Nitza's fever could have broken through last night. Whoever is on the shift when Nitza wakes up, let me know so that I could give her new clothes and sheets. She still needs to take her medication, too."

Zeb was the first one on the shift but nothing happened then. After two hours it was Kanan's turn. He sat on a seat built into the right wall of the room. He decided he would meditate a bit, but he wouldn't go too deep. And yet it was still enough for him to sense something. There was another presence, but not in the room. It was far. The tingling in the back of his mind, it was familiar. A far off presence getting in tuned to the force with him, there was only one who could do that. "What do you want?"

For a second, in his blindness, he saw a flash of white eyes. They were gone instantly. He had never seen the Bendu, and never will, but he knew it was his eyes. He was watching, using the Force to see through him. Why?

Kanan was taken out of his mediation when he heard Nitza stir in her sleep. Coming into reality, Kanan waited a little while until he heard another clue. There was a small gasp. She was awake. Kanan stood up and moved towards where the bed should be. "Easy, Nitza, it's just me. Hera's on a mission. She'll be back soon."

She didn't say anything. It sounded like she didn't want to move either. To figure out more, Kanan felt for the bed before sitting down on the edge. Then he reached a hand out to her. At first, she didn't take it. She was hesitant. Then Kanan felt a small hand on his palm. It wasn't trembling. She wasn't afraid. But she wasn't fidgety or full of energy. She felt emotionless. It had to be the result of the nightmare. "Hey, everything's ok. Hera said so it was just a nightmare."

She suddenly pulled away and Kanan heard her sneeze. Kanan called in Sabine. She came to the room not a moment later with Zeb and Ezra. "Hey…" Sabine said, trying to sound happy so that Nitza wouldn't feel scared. Sabine kneeled down in front of the girl who was sitting up on the bed. She looked sweaty and tired, but she was more conscious then she was the day before. "Yep," Sabine said as she put a hand on the girl's forehead. "Her fever's done all right."

Nitza suddenly began to cough, making Zeb say, "That fever may be gone but that cold ain't over."

They were forced out of the room out of privacy, for Nitza as Sabine changed her into some different spare clothing they had on the ghost. Nitza stood in the middle of the room as Sabine changed her bedsheets. Nitza felt around at the loose-fitting long sleeve the went past her hand and down past her knees. Once Sabine was done, she had Nitza sit down on the bed and take her medication. Nitza drank the syrup then spit it out. "BLEGH!" she began to cough.

Sabine had managed to avoid the spray but was a bit peeved. "Nitza…"

"Ew…." Nitza managed to say.

Sabine managed to find it humorous and chuckled. "Yeah, I hate cough syrup too. But, it's gonna help."

Nitza managed to swallow it the second take but still said, "Ew…" That was the only time she did anything or said anything. After that, she was laying down in bed, head on the pillow and pulling the sheets tight around her. She would stare blankly at the wall. Through her shift, Sabine said, "You know, even though you have to stay in bed, it doesn't mean we can't do something fun. How about a lesson?" Nitza shook her head. Sabine frowned. "Hey, it was just a nightmare. You're safe here." Nitza closed her eyes, signaling she didn't want to talk about it.

Sabine left defeated after her shift was over and Ezra and Chopper were to take her place. Chopper decided to stand by Nitza's bed. Ezra sat down on the seat by the wall like Kanan had done earlier. The boy watched somberly at the girl who would not do anything but stare out at the wall ahead. Sabine had told him that she had been distant. She didn't even want to learn. It was so shocking that when she did move it felt like a relief. Nitza reached a hand out to Chopper beside her bed. All she did was put her hand to rest on his crop top, the droid only spinning his head towards her slightly to acknowledge her before turning away. It satisfied the girl anyway and she relaxed.

In an instant, Ezra knew what was needed. She wasn't ready to talk, but she did need some sort of physical assurance. She was only like ten after all. But what could Ezra give her? He suddenly thought back to when he was younger—wait. Ezra got up, "Chopper, I'll be back." Chopper gave warning sound, making Ezra say, "I'm not ditching trust me."

Nitza watched the boy go out. Thinking he wouldn't be back for a while she closed her eyes. Then suddenly the door opening was heard. She looked up to see Ezra held his hands behind him, holding something by his back. Ezra walked towards her as he said, "You know when I was a kid, I used to have all kinds of nightmares. Especially when I was living on the streets." Seeing her confusion, Ezra quickly went by that topic and went to what he was wanting to say. "What I mean is that when I couldn't stop thinking about what was going bad, I at least had something that I could hold on to."

Ezra held something out in front of him. It was a fluffy brown striped creature but not really. short black legs, little black eyes, long ears, and a long tail. Ezra said, "This is what Lothcats look like back on my homeworld. I've had this toy for as long as I can remember…." He faltered, thinking about his family.

Nitza was again confused, but her curiosity could not be held back any longer by her previous sadness. "Toy? Lothcat?"

"Yea, I know, Lothcats can be a bit—wait—toy? Yeah, it's a toy. You've never seen a toy?" Nitza shrugged. No that wasn't the right question. "Do you remember having one?" her eyes shifted back and forth, trying to concentrate. But suddenly another thought came to mind and Nitza closed her eyes. Whatever it was she wanted to forget. It must have been related to the nightmare because she closed her eyes tight. Ezra bit his lip nervously. He stepped a boundary. He tried to bring it all back by sitting down at the edge of the bed and holding out the stuffed toy. "Holding on to him made me feel better sometimes. Perhaps holding him can help you."

At first, Nitza didn't do anything but open one eye to look again. Then she held out her hand. Ezra smiled, handing her the lothcat. She held it up curiously, and then she pulled it to her chest and under the covers. As she hugged it she suddenly felt a bit more… relieved. She hugged it tighter and smiled. Ezra smirked and said, "See it works." Chopper made a sound that sounded like he was laughing. Ezra deadpanned and said, "You knew about that Lothcat just like everyone on this ship. Now you make fun of me." Chopper just laughed again before looking at Nitza. The droid, just like Ezra, was happy to see that the girl was slowly coming out of her shell again.


	56. Recovery part 2

It was back to Zeb on the shift when Hera came back from the mission in the evening. Walking into her room, Hera saw the Lasat sitting on the seat built to the wall. He was modifying his weapon as Nitza still lay on the bed stared off into a wall. She had the covers tight around her as she held in her arms Ezra's stuffed lothcat. "Um… what 's going on?"

Zeb's ears slightly tilted down as he put his bo-rifle to rest up against the wall. He said, "She's been unresponsive all day, even Sabine tried to offer a lesson but Nitza… I mean Nitza only made any move when she had to go to the refresher or we have to give her medicine. Though Nitza did react a bit. Ezra thought it would make her feel better if she had something to hold on to. So when Ezra gave her his…" Zeb bit his lip to keep from cracking up.

But when little spurts of struggled laughter came out of Zeb, Hera heard Ezra from down the hall, "If you say the word DOLL one more time-!"

Zeb burst out laughing. Hera rolled her eyes as Sabine came in. The Mandalorian said, "They've been at it since Ezra gave Nitza his childhood toy." She suddenly noticed Hera looking tired. "Hera, are you ok?"

"Wh-what?" Hera straightened up and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. It was just a stressful mission. We managed to get the planet relief though and…" Hera held up something she had in her hand.

"A book? I haven't seen a physical text in ages."

"You make me sound old," Zeb said. "I was just looking over some comics last week."

Sabine scuffed and said, "Since when do you have comics?"

"They're Ezra's."

Hera rolled her eyes again. She was surrounded by children, not including Nitza. The twi'lek went over to the bed where the little girl lay watching the scene in front of her. When Hera sat down at the edge of the bed holding the green book up to show Nitza. "Do you know what this is?" Nitza looked to Zeb and Sabine before looking to Hera and nodded. Hera said, "Well, now you know it's a book, but did you know before today?" Nitza's eyes darted down before looking intently at the book. She seemed to be thinking because it took her a while to respond with a little shrug of the shoulders. She seemed to recall but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Hera motioned for her to sit up. Nitza complied, sitting up. She gave out a small sneeze, a sign that she was still sick. But she wasn't entirely sick anymore as she sat up she held the lothcat toy tight in her hands and looked up intently at Hera. Hera said, "As I was helping give aid to a rebel group, I ended up talking with one of them. Long story short you came up in our conversation. She wanted to help you out so she gave this book to me to give it to you." Hera held it out and to everyone's surprise, Nitza grabbed it. She wanted to learn.

Sabine was happy to see Nitza was finally coming back around, but she slouched a bit. Hera had some sort of trick to get Nitza to come through, and Sabine didn't. Hera saw Sabine looking glum. Hera knew that Sabine tried earlier, so she motioned for the Mandalorian to come over. Sabine perked up and walked over. She sat on the other side of Nitza so that the little girl was between her and Hera. Hera continued and said, "Apparently she was a mother and she would read this to her daughter to make her feel better after she had a nightmare."

Sabine got the message and grabbed the book opening it. Nitza's eyes widened. Inside were colors, a contrast to the plain cover. Images of people, especially children playing in the field. Words in aurebesh were printed on the top of each page. Sabine read allowed, "As the sun shines and children frolic in the fields, the world around them is filled with their squeals…" Nitza leaned into Sabine as she eyed the pages as Sabine flipped from one to the next and reading it out to her.

Hera smiled and sat up, leaving the two alone. She went by Zeb who had been watching the whole time. She whispered to him, "Let's go…"

"But my shift isn't done yet—" He whined.

"Come on…"

"All right all right…"

As Zeb and Hera walked out, Ezra was starting to walk past them to get to the room, "Hey what's going on—ack!" Hera grabbed Ezra by the collar of his shirt and pulled him out of the room.

Sabine continued reading as Nitza looked at the pages. In the back of her mind, she felt a familiarity with the book. Nit the book itself but she possibly had seen one when she was younger. She didn't want to tell Hera earlier when she first saw the book because she worried that it would lead to talking about her nightmare again. She didn't want to, and she let Hera talk about how she got the book. But as soon as Sabine started reading from the book Nitza was entranced. It was familiar but she was still amazed. When Hera and Zeb left, Sabine handed the book to Nitza so that she held one end and the little girl held the other. Nitza looked up curiously at the older girl. Sabine said, "Let's test out your reading skills."

Nitza looked at the words on the page with a picture of a boy and a girl playing on boxes drawn into the ground. "The… little…. Boy… plays… hopscotch."

"Hopscotch."

"Hopscotch…. As the-" Nitza leaned away so that she could cough into the crock of her arm. Sabine rubbed a hand up down the girls' back to ease her breathing. Nitza got her breath back before she continued to read, "Little… girl… stands… to… watch."

"Good job. And if you get tired and feel sick again, I can read the rest for you."

"It's ok…. What's hopscotch?"

"You've never played hopscotch?" Nitza shrugged her shoulders. "Wel, I haven't played it since I was like eight. But I can show it to you—"

Nitza sneezed into the crook of her arm.

"After you get better though."

"Ok, thank you, Sabine."

Sabine felt pride swell in her. She finally felt she got it right with Nitza. The two continued to read together until Kanan's shift. As Nitza laid back down to rest, Sabine saw the little girl hold the book and the lothcat toy with a smile.


	57. Hopscotch

A few days later, Nitza's cold was no more. Hera deemed her healthy to go outside and play. Nitza took that to heart, quickly leaving the confines of her sheets, changing into her regular rags, and searching for Sabine around the Ghost.

"Hopscotch, hopscotch, hopscotch!" she yelled as she tugged on Sabine's arm towards the entrance of the cargo hold.

"All right, all right," Sabine said, trying to sound annoyed but failing because of Nitza's innocent pleas.

Soon, Nitza was sitting at the ramp of the cargo hold as she watched Sabine on her knees drawing on the dirt ground in front. She made some squares with a small white stick of powder Sabine called chalk. When Sabine called her over, Nitza went to stand by her and look at the squares. They were together in a vertical line, some squares on either side of some. It had numbers that started with one and went up to nine. She looked at them confused before asking, "This is Hopscotch?"

"Part of it," Sabine confirmed. She stood up, let the chalk drop. "Ok, so you have to balance one leg and hop from one box to another in the order they are numbered. Whoever can go the farthest without falling wins."

Hoping…. "One leg?" Nitza was more worried then confused no.

"It's easy. Here, I'll hop this once just for example to show you." Sabine got on one leg and hoped from box to the next smoothly and quickly. When she got to nine, for a second she put her leg down and just stared ahead. There a distant gaze in her eyes but she smiled. Nitza wondered what she was thinking.

"Ok—" Sabine suddenly spoke up. She gave a shake of her head before looking to the little girl and saying, "Sorry, I just was thinking… well, it's been a long, long time since I did this. About your age actually. I forgot how simple and fun it was. All right, your turn."

"Ok," Nitza said nervously. Nitza was good at a lot of things like climbing trees and running without tripping but balancing…. Well, Sabine could do it, right? So why not Nitza. The girl got on one leg. She got to three going up but she had to get four, five, and six across. She only made it to four until she fell on her side. "Ooof!" She grunted before sitting up. Nitza looked to Sabine, a bit of embarrassment and shame growing on her face. Sabine said a bit surprised, "Whoops… Well… hoping forward is easy but hoping sideways can be difficult."

"How did you do it?"

"Practice and Balance."

"Ok…" Nitza said unsurely. To keep her from falling and hitting the ground, Sabine stood by the side of the hopscotch while Nitza tried to hop. The girl would reset, take a couple of hops, fall into Sabine's hands, and then restart. She managed to reach five but jumping to the side proved a chore. "Hhhhhmmmhph—" Nitza would grumble after every fall into Sabine's arms

"Hey it's ok you're getting there. Just slow down a bit and think before jumping."

"But you did it so fast. I did but like I said practice."

"You said you did it long, long, long, time ago. My age."

"Yeah but… I kind of had a different upbringing where I had to learn balance for… certain reasons. This just for fun."

"But I want to do it. I wanna, I wanna," Nitza crossed her arms and pouted.

Sabine pushed her to her feet and had the little girl look at her as she said. "And you will. It just takes time." Nitza nodded. She had heard the same phrase from Bendu. Things take time. "Let's start with a small goal, instead of making it to nine make it to seven."

She continued her struggle to reach at least number seven on the hopscotch. Soon Ezra and Kanan came out of the Ghost. Kanan walked by to stand next to Sabine while Ezra stayed to sit down on the ramp of the ship. They all watched intently as Nitza hoped to five and almost fall. She managed to regain her balance, but she grumbled having almost failed again. Ezra called out, "You got this!"

Nitza felt a bit of courage come from Ezra's words. So managed to make it to six, then she looked at the seventh square with a keen eye, then she hopped to it without falling. "I did seven! I did it, I did—ack!" She fell forward. Everyone expected her to be a bit angry, but she looked up and started to giggle.

Ezra and Sabine joined in the laughter. Kanan smiled before leaving Sabine. As Nitza got up, she watched the man stand a little ways away and face the vast forest ahead. What was he doing? She was suddenly distracted when Ezra came up to her and said, "It looks like you're feeling better."

"Yep, yep, yep," she answered. "Because of everyone. Thank you."

"Nothing to it," Sabine said.

Nitza insisted though. "But it wasn't nothing, it was something. It was the medicine, and the bed, and reading—"

"Ok, ok, you're right," Ezra said keeping her from going on. "You're welcome."

"But I didn't mention the lothcat."

Sabine and Ezra laughed again, then they noticed Nitza's face scrunch up in thought. Ezra smirked and rolled his eyes, "What now?"

"You said Lothcats live on Lothal. Why not here?"

Sabine motioned to the Ghost, "You want to go in? Learn about animals from other sectors?"

"Yeah!" Sabine and Ezra started to walk to the ship, but as Nitza went to follow behind she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Kanan. He was looking in her general direction, and then he looked back at the forest. Nitza looked to where he was looking. What was in the forest that he was trying to show—? "Oh no!" Nitza yelped. Bendu! She had forgotten about Bendu this whole week.

She suddenly started to run to the forest. "Wait!" Sabine called out as she and Ezra went to stand by Kanan. The man held out a hand, making sure they didn't run after the little girl.

Nitza continued to run, but she looked back and yelled, "I need to go back to him."

Ezra whispered, "Oh, right…"

By then, Hera, Zeb, and Chopper came out of the ship seeing Nitza runoff. She continued to yell back, "I'll come back soon, thank you!"

"That was… quick…" Zeb said a bit annoyed.

Kanan said, "She has her reasons, but she is thankful."

"I don't doubt it but…" Zeb stopped.

Hera finished for the Lasat, "Why go back to him?"


	58. There is More

"And you hop like this!" Nitza said as she got on one leg. She jumped from on square drawn on the ground of the Pit to the next square drawn. Bendu watched as she made at least eight hops before falling face first. The giant winced but then smiled in watching the girl get up and just dust herself off. "I did eight, Eight, eight, eight! More than last time."

"I see," Then Bendu finally said, "It's good to see you enjoying yourself again."

"Yep, yep, yep! I hated being sick. No fun."

"Getting sick is common, you must get used to it."

"Hera says it doesn't have to be. She says if I go to them more and more, I can learn to be… imoon…. Im mun…."

Bendu grunted as he laid down. This Hera may not have directly said it, but he knew what this Hera told Nitza was meant to comment on Bendu's treatment of Nitza. The Twi'lek knew nothing of his nature, Bendu had his reasons. In the end, Nitza recovered. Bendu corrected the girl with an unamused, "Immune."

"That's it! Immune!" she then went to sit down in front of Bendu to say, "When will I get sick again?"

"As I said, it happens, and when it happens it's to no one's prediction."

"Not even you can see it happen?"

"As the Bendu, I can only see the possibility, not absolutes. If I did though, I wouldn't have had trouble finding out how you were fairing through the Jedi Knight."

"You mean Kanan? But he was with me? Why did he not tell me you were trying to contact him."

Bendu grunted again, this time laying his head on the ground. Kanan was still disappointed at the Bendu for not letting them know Nitza was sick in the first place. Bendu didn't care what Kanan thought, nature doesn't serve anyone, not even those who were sick. In the end, it was the people's instincts that helped Nitza. Bendu was secretly grateful for that. All Bendu said was, "The Jedi Knight does not think it is wise to leave you in my care?"

"But why?" Nitza asked getting up and walking to his face. "You did take care of me. Even if you didn't have medicine." She wrapped her arms around his muzzle. "You took care of me."

Bendu's eyes narrowed. Not this again… quickly he asked. He shook his head a bit to make her let go so he could raise his head and ask, "And what else besides this hopscotch did you learn."

Nitza jumped up and down, "Ooo, ooo! Sabine read the book more and it has lots of other games. I got to eat warm food and learn about more parts of a ship being stuck inside and…." She faltered.

Bendu knew something she did not like had happened. "And…."

Nitza sat down again, this time right in front of him but never looking up. "I had a nightmare."

Bendu lowered his head and asked, "What did you see?"

"I saw…." Nitza bit her lip and shifted her eyes around. "I saw mommy and daddy."

Bendu stiffened for the tiniest moment, but only for so long before he composed himself to say, "What did you see?"

"They came to me and said I was like them… like…" Nitza felt like crying again. Bendu never liked when she cried. Mostly because something as trivial to Bendu shouldn't be something to make one said. It should be something to learn from. But Bendu saw that her dream came because of her inner fear. Fear of being an Imperial. And for someone as young as Nitza, it wasn't trivial, it was much, much bigger. Bendu lowered his head again, this time letting it come to rest just in front of Nitza. He didn't pull away as she crawled up to him and wrapped her hands around his muzzle again. She didn't cry but her eyes were glassy and red. Nitza didn't say anything for a while before asking, "Why do we have nightmares?"

Bendu answered simply, "They are made in the minds of beings, their experiences in the waking world fueling what they see in their dreamscape."

"But, why?"

Bendu knew what she was getting at. There were several reasons as to why some unknown to beings and much more cosmic. But there were ways in which the beings understood how dreams worked. He told her, "Many see dreams as meaning something."

"So, so… does," Nitza looked up with wild eyes, "Does that mean my nightmare wants me to be Imperial?"

"If that is how you want to see it. Only you can decipher its meaning, but know that there is never one meaning to a dream."

Nitza was at first worried, then slightly hopeful. She stayed like that, resting on his muzzle, thinking of what he said. Perhaps there was more.

**)))))))))))))))) Empire ((((((((((((((((**

In the coldness of his courters on the Relentless, Agent Kallus looked at the code from the most recent message he had received from the Rebellion. Well, the only message he received. He was always the one sending, not receiving, just to make sure the Empire wouldn't find out he was Fulcrum.

Whoever in the Rebellion sent it was smart though. They sent it as Kallus was sending a message of his own. They locked onto his signal in the abandoned com tower of Lothal so that they made sure he himself received it. And what they sent was nothing but pure code, or at least that's what he thought it was. Even if a slicer could rework it, Kallus could see right away the certain order of the numbers could make out a jumbled mess of letters that the Empire can't decipher. But the problem is…. he had no idea either. The set was just a bunch of numbers but what?

Kallus studied the set from a small disk he had. It was too short for coordinates and too long to be sector designations. Kallus tried to think, but after looking at this for a couple of days he was already getting frustrated studying for the hundredth time. What did the Rebellion want him to figure out? This mess of a puzzle. Kallus turned off the small holoscreen and hid the device in a secret compartment. Kallus had time before he would need to get back to work, and having spent much of his free time already staring at those insufferable numbers, he just wanted his mind to rest.

Which did not happen? He laid down on his cot but immediately started thinking of the Rebellion. This mess he got into at first felt like he was walking on eggs shells. Any slip-up, crash. Caught by the Empire. The consequences severe. So why was he risking it for something that he had been fighting against his whole life? Because of exactly that. He shouldn't be afraid of the risks if he believed in a just system. The Empire wasn't just, then, it was flawed. And that's what the Rebellion was for. A just cause. Kallus thought of how his time with Zeb was the start of seeing the truth, and how he was a fool to think back on those days as a young soldier waiting for him and his unit to-

His Unit Number!

Kallus quickly sat up on his bed and pulled out something small. It was a silver tag with no chain. A reminder of his first deployment with his former colleagues as a unit. Only half of the Empire's signal was embedded in the back. Kallus remembered how he and his comrades planned to get the other half done when they succeeded in their mission. It hurt for the Agent to look at it. It reminded him too much of how that mission was never completed and how besides him, the entire unit was killed… because of that Lasat. He suddenly got angry, but then sighed letting out the built out anger. No, he knew now Zeb was right. He couldn't judge all Lasats from his experience with one. Kallus shook his head. This wasn't the reason he pulled out the tag. He looked at the other side and saw numbers. A jumbled mess of numbers that made no sense as words but just numbers. Like the code, he got from the Rebellion. It was another tag like his. But how did the Rebellion acquire one? And who did it belong to?

The last question made Kallus go to his private datapad and start searching. They must have wanted to know who's code it is as well. He saw the first set of numbers right away. It was coordinate numbers, but what was the rest? Kallus thought of his own tag. His tag had a date, maybe there was a date in the code he got. Just like that, he imputed the coordinates and the date. It gave him an article from planet the coordinates were set to: Gran Moradir. The date on the article was on the first day of summer. The article featuring a group of young men lined up in a row. All in a green and white uniform. That of a geologist. If that gave him no clue, Kallus read it in the Article title. _First Graduates of the Imperial Academy of Science to receive awards in the department of Geology and Development_. Kallus studied the image before he looked at the last number of the code. 5. Kallus looked at each man and counted them in a row until he reached the fifth man. He read the names of the men and read the fifth name allowed. "Vernal Dubreas."

He searched the name in the Imperial database, finding a blocked file. Thankfully, he wasn't just Agent Kallus, but Commander. His rank gave him bypass to some classified information. He unblocked the file with his code. He didn't quite understand what he saw, but whatever it was it was important. He took down some information and memorized some as to not give the Empire the slip about what he was up to. There is more going on in the Rebellion then he thought.


	59. Spar Hill

Since it was a long while since they played together, Nitza thought it best to be with Bendu was much as possible. Bendu was getting exhausted from the amount of energy he had been trying to get out of Nitza. From hide and seek, running with the Krykna, all the way up to chasing Dogma and searching for Convor nest.… and Nitza would barely sleep.

"Let's go searching for Convor again!" she said, a week into her ever-engaging fun time. She made sure she was in her dress that Hera had given her before setting off.

Bendu lumbered behind her and said, "I believe that has already been done. How about a swim in the nearby pool?"

"Later, later, later!"

Bendu shook his head. The Price he had to pay to enjoy life a bit. He watched Nitza as she skipped ahead of him. He smiled. Well, it was never that heavy of a price. He lowered his head behind her and suddenly stepped forward. The contact made her fall on her back and onto his muzzle. Then Bendu flicked his head up so that the girl went flying up. It was high but not too much to scare her. Instead, she gave a squeal of laughter as she came down to landed on all fours on top of his head. She continued to giggle as the Bendu triumphantly smiled and said, "I think a look from up high will help you spot a nest."

Nitza sat up and looked around, putting a hand on her brow to shield her from the light of the afternoon sun. "There!" she yelled spotting a tree coming up next to them. Without waiting she jumped off his head onto the leaf branch. She walked carefully to a hollow in the coral tree.

Bendu said in a hushed voice, "Remember Nitza…."

"I know," she whispered back. "Be as quiet as them." She got on her knees and peered in. There was a mother convor sitting on top of two almost fully grown chicks. "Awwww, this one has babies…. hi…." The Convors just stared at her. "I don't think they want to fly yet."

"Give them time," Bendu assured her.

The faint boom sound was heard across the sky and they looked up. Something small streaked across the sky, high above them. They followed it until it disappeared over the horizon. "Wow…." Nitza gasped. Bendu gave a low growl. Something told him it wasn't meant to be here, whatever it was. Nitza ran and jumped off the leaf to land on Bendu's head. "Let's go see it! Let's go, let's go!"

Bendu wanted to protest, he wanted nothing to do with elements of the outside. But then again, if it was a threat, Bendu knew it could offset the balance. He was in charge of it. He began to follow the trail to where it landed. They got to the spot beyond the horizon, Nitza gasping when she saw where they were. "Spar Hill!"

There were little mounds of land all-around full of krykna. Krykna were in pairs of two all around, fighting or throwing their legs out at one another. That's why Nitza herself named it Spar Hill when Bendu had told Nitza that this was where Krykna display their dominance to one another. A way of life for them. The little girl climbed down Bendu and ran to the edge of the first hill to watch two Krykna fighting. Bendu, on the other hand, looked up and around, trying to spot anything odd. Just at the other side of the stretch of hills, there was one thing that stuck out. Something metal, and small. Small enough to fit one being inside. A Ship? Or how do the beings call it now? A Pod?

Nitza suddenly got excited, "Spare with me!"

"I thought you wanted to find the flying oddity."

"I do but we haven't done sparing in a long time!" She got down on all fours, her bottom high in the air as she wiggled it around. Like an animal waiting to pounce.

Bendu grunted but smiled. They used to come here rarely to watch the krykna fight. One day Nitza wanted to learn how to fight. Though Bendu wasn't physical in that sense, he did humor her. Nitza was right, it had been a while. Besides, it didn't look like the pod was going anywhere anytime soon. And he had a feeling the strangers knew how to deal with it. Let them figure it out. It wasn't nature's problem.

Bendu lowered his head and said, "All right, go for it."

Nitza gave a yell, trying to run on all fours but stumbling on her arms. "Oof!" she exclaimed before shaking herself off of dirt and getting back on all four feet. She collided heads with Bendu and tried to push against him foreheads with hers. The Bendu just smirked. Yes, this was their way of…. Sparing. More play then sparing if anyone ever asked. The early evening turned late and soon the spiders started to turn in before nightfall. Nitza and Bendu meanwhile continued on. With the hills bare, they had room to run around. Bendu would slowly chase after Nitza as she ran on two feet. Then randomly she would turn around to him get on all fours. Bendu would stop to lower his head for Nitza to ram her head into his,. Bendu never once making a move so as to gently play with her. Then the cycle would start again by Nitza running off again.

After a while, they got to the end of a stretch of hill. They never noticed the small pod. They just played. Then Bendu gave a grunt that made his head flick up and push Nitza away. She rolled down the hill and came to a stop on something soft. She laughed out loud before looking up at Bendu over the hill. The giant gave hearty laugh, then his face fell and he went silent. Something was behind Nitza. The girl looked back and then gave a yell as she saw giant black eyes staring at her. She scooted back, seeing two large krykna in a pile… dead. "What…" Nitza said, getting up.

Bendu shook his head and said, "Remember Nitza, they often fight to the death. It's the krykna way."

Nitza nodded. Suddenly a sound was heard from beyond a dirt path. Bendu looked up and immediately vanished behind Nitza's back. The girl didn't notice him, watching as a land speeder came up with some familiar faces. "Zeb! Chopper!"

The Lasat stood up and gave her a curious look, "Nitza? What are you doing out here?"

Nitza looked behind her to see what Bendu would say, but in seeing he was gone she looked back to Zeb and held her hands behind her back to say shyly, "Playing."

"Playing… around…" He looked at the dead krykna.

"Oh, well, I was playing and then I found them. Yep, yep, yep."

Zeb got off the speeder and held a transponder in hand. Chopper flew up and landed on the ground to go with Zeb up to the little girl. Nitza patted the droid on the head, Chopper making a purring sound. Zeb asked, "What happened here?"

"Krykna like to fight to the death sometimes."

"Yeah… I can see that." He kicked aside a broken transponder that Nitza didn't notice was there until now. "Looks like the spiders had a go at it." He stabbed the new transponder into the ground. "Easy enough to fix."

"I don't think krykna like to fight those. It hurts them." She frowned, seeing Zeb pushing buttons on the screen. "Why do you keep using transponders?"

"Sorry kid, I know you hate them but we need it to make sure that everything is going right."

"Something bad happened," Nitza said crossing her arms.

Zeb knew it was a touchy subject so he stopped commenting on the krykna. But then he noticed something in the dead pile. "Something did happen." He stood up to go to it. Nitza followed him. "A nest or swarm…"

He pushed aside on dead krykna, revealing a blue, two-legged, "Droid?" Nitza asked.

Zeb pulled it out of the pile to face it up. Like AP-5 this one had arms and legs, but the face was more human-like. "Not one of ours, how did it get here?" Zeb asked.

Nitza tapped her fingers on her chin and looked at the sky. "Me and Bend—I mean, me and my friend were following something flying."

"This thing flies then?"

"Maybe…" was all Nitza could say.

"Doesn't look Imperial, does it?" He asked Chopper. Nitza immediately froze hearing that word. She looked at it, wondering the difference between Imperial droids and other droids. But there was no more comment about it. Zeb figured it best to take it to examine, with Chopper saying something about turning it into trash. At least that's what she heard Zeb argue about. As Zeb picked up the droid and put it in the back of the speeder, Zeb called out, "Hey Nitza, want to come? It might be a good time for a lesson. Droids or something like that. Chopper said something, make Zeb say, "Yeah, you might know more about droids, but she can't understand and the others are gone."

As they were arguing, Nitza looked back over the hill to where Bendu would probably be. She didn't want to leave him, but this might be her only chance. If this was an Imperial droid… and Zeb was offering to teach her…. She could learn more about the Empire without Zeb finding out where she came from. She turned around to say, "Yeah!" before running to the land speeder with Chopper next to her.


	60. Weapon part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for going completely MIA for more than a month. Corona Virus hit my family hard financially so i've been trying to find work where I could. But with all this free time now, I guess I got a lot of time to update the rest of this story here. Enjoy!

"Hey, Inventory!" Zeb yelled as held the mystery droid over his shoulders and Nitza and Chopper followed next to him. They were in the cargo level of High Trees where AP-5 was walking around.

The glass eye droid shuffled up to Zeb as the Lasat put the strange droid down to lay on some crates. "Um, excuse me this is a supply area, not a trash compactor," AP-5 argued. Zeb ignored him and had AP-5 identify it. "Hmm, it appears to be an older model of a protocol droid."

"What's that?" Nitza asked.

"Protocol droids aid in galactic relations such as translating languages."

"Translate? You mean there are more than just basic? More and more?"

Seeing Nitza's eyes lite up, Zeb slightly tussled her hair and said, "See, I knew you coming along would make this worthwhile." She observed and learn that what AP-5 did next was plug the mystery droid into an energy source for it to wake up. Its eyes flashed white. Then it sat up, making everyone step back.

"Hey, it worked!" Zeb said surprised.

"Of course it worked," AP-5 replied annoyed.

Zeb asked the protocol droid some questions to try and identify it. After a garbled mess of words, the thing said in a monotone voice, "Designation Unknown."

As it stood up to walk around, AP-5 explained, "Its memory systems are damaged." Nitza sighed, figuring out it meant it can't remember. Must be because of the dent on its head. A little hope arose when it suddenly started to name off items around it and quickly count them… even though they were all inside crates!

"Did he just scan an inventory of this entire area?" Zeb asked with a cheeky look on his face.

"How did it do that?" Nitza asked. "Can it see through walls?"

"In a way yeah," Zeb explained before looking at AP-5 with a grin. He cracked a joke at AP-5 who ignored the joke and said the droid they had was a logistics droid. Zeb contemplated keeping the logistics droid around when suddenly the droid scanned Zeb. "Species: Lasat. Designation: Military. Rank: Unknown."

Zeb put a hand over his brow and said, "Captain Orellios at your service." The droid copied Zeb's motion, the Lasat laughing as he put his hand down and said, "Fast learner, this one."

Nitza became curious. "Orellios?"

"My last name."

"Last name…. and what is military?"

"It's like a… group of soldiers."

Nitza blinked. And the logistics droid was able to figure all that out? She barely heard what the droid said about Chopper and Zeb laughing about it. She barely heard Zeb being called through what is known as a speaker. She was more worried about if the droid stayed, would it scan her? And if it could get more information from Zeb with one looked, what would it say about her? Would it say she's Imperial? Nitza was shaken out of her thoughts when Zeb put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Hey, kid, did you hear me?"

"Wha-what?" Nitza asked.

Zeb seemed to contemplate before saying, "Ehhh how about you just come with me."

"Ok…" Nitza said, looking between the three droids before leaving them behind and following Zeb to…. wherever.

She walked with him to the next level of High Trees, wondering why they were going there until. Getting there Zeb finally said, "Hey? You ok? You seemed nervous about the new droid."

"I-I was?" Nitza stammered. "Sor-sorry." She prayed Zeb didn't figure something was wrong.

"It's ok, I guess new droids are a bit scary. Trust me, they're the most docile… except for Chopper." Zeb smirked and Nitza giggled. When they got to the control area, a familiar face met them by panel station. "Sir, we have a message from Fulcrum," Trac said.

"Let's hear it," Zeb said, "Put him through."

Nitza waved, "Hi Trac!"

"Hi, Nitza." He waved back before pressing a button on the panel. A symbol showed up over the table projector that Nitza and Zeb stood by.

"Ooooo, what's that?"

"Fulcrum's symbol."

"Who's Fulcrum—" She stopped when the message began.

"The Empire has begun to deploy recon droids. These Infiltrators sweep the Outer Rim worlds for rebel bases." A holographic image appeared of a tall droid. Its hands more like deadly picks and its face with many eyes. It looked frightening.

"Oh, look at that thing," Zeb said, "It's armed to the teeth."

"As in… it's a weapon?" Nitza asked.

Zeb winced, "Yeah…. There are droids worse then Chopper. But we've got nothing to worry about as long as it doesn't come here."

Fulcrum's message continued, "They are extremely dangerous, but can appear harmless while in protocol mode." The image changed to that of a familiar droid.

Nitza gasped and Zeb muttered, "Oh, no." It was the logistics droid they brought to High Trees.

"One recently failed to report in. Be advised, if the droid remains out of contact, the Empire will come after it, and soon. Fulcrum out."

The message ended when the fulcrum symbol came back then disappeared. At that moment, Zeb was hustling out of the control area. "Trac, send a silent alarm to any personnel that the base is on lockdown. Don't send it to any droid who can track it. Everything goes back to normal until I give the all-clear."

Trac had no idea what was going on but did so anyway as he pressed certain keys. Nitza did and she tried to follow behind Zeb. "What are you going to do?"

Zeb stopped rushing and turned back to say, "Stay here, you'll be safe."

Nitza stopped following but watched as Zeb turned back around and run to the staircase. "What about you?" she whispered worriedly.


	61. Weapon part 2

Nitza sat by the projection table, watching as Trac rushed around with a couple of other people trying to lock down the level. But all she could think about was what was probably going down at the level below. It had been a while since Zeb had gone. And many of the people were already coming to this level and staying until Zeb gave the all-clear. Whatever that meant. Nitza stood up and looked around for the rest of the crew but found no one familiar. She then noticed that there weren't that many people gathered at this level of High Trees. In fact, a lot was missing. She remembered when she first got here with Zeb and Chopper, the base level had barely any ships and fighters docked. There was only one other familiar person and that was Housen, who unlike Trac, wasn't busy to be asked questions. "Housen? Where is Hera and the others?"

"Out training. It's just us here. Hey, do you know why we're on lockdown?"

Nitza bit her lip, then said, "No." Before moving on. It may have seemed like a lie at first, but it wasn't entirely false either. Nitza knew after hearing the message from Fulcrum that the logistics droid was more then it seemed. That's it. She went to the edge of the leaf they were on and looked out into the sunset that had turned to night in the last few moments of hysteria. Then she looked down at the cargo level just below. This droid had a way of telling the Empire of where they were. Just like Maul. But from seeing the picture, and Zeb running in haste, the droid was actually much more dangerous. But how dangerous? And what kind of weapon was it really?

She suddenly thought of something. She didn't even know how weapons worked exactly. She had seen blasters. Zeb told her about his bo-rifle. She even saw lightsabers used in defense. But never as an attack. Nitza really had no idea what danger could come from it. Which made it all the worse. What was Zeb getting into? Wasn't there any way she could help?

Nitza suddenly heard faint sounds from below. Sounds she's heard once. Coming from Sabine and Hera's blasters a long time ago. Then there was running and yelling. There was a fight. Nitza became frightened and looked to Trac who was talking a group of people. They were far away, gathered around the projection table. Too far to hear what she heard below. She knew they couldn't go down there because Zeb told them to lock down the base. But... she didn't have to listen because she had no idea what that meant. She wanted to know what danger was going on.

Nitza snuck away and down to find the cargo area very empty. And very quiet now. She didn't like it. Nitza needed to find Zeb. Even Chopper and Ap-5, they were down here too. They were even with the droid last she saw them. What happened to them? If the droid had turned into its monster form like in the image….

What did that mean? What was it going to do to them? Nitza became frightened and went around the stacks of crates and cargo until after a long while she heard the sound of fighting again. More accurately, Zeb yelling. Nitza ran to the source until she found Zeb in a large space fighting the droid. Just as she feared, it was in its monster form, battling Zeb who was protecting Ap-5 and Chopper standing a safe distance away. But Nitza suddenly became entranced by the fight, more or less for the purple light coming from each end of Zeb's weapon. Zeb told her it had some secrets, but the bo-rifle was more amazing now that she saw it all.

Zeb was swinging his staff around while in retaliation the droid would use its spinning hands to try and stab Zeb. Both would try and kick out or punch each other. That is until the droid grabbed the bo-rifle when Zeb tried to hit it. Somehow it redirected the energy from the end it held and had it corse through the rifle so that Zeb was electrocuted. Nitza gasped, watching as the droid flung the bo-rifle away in her direction. She watched it fall just a couple feet ahead of her before she looked up again to see Zeb stumble. The droid prepared to charge. "No, no, ZEB!" Nitza yelled.

Zeb heard her voice, ears perking up. His first thought was to see where she was to make sure she was a safe distance away. Then he suddenly felt the infiltrator droid's tong fingers clamp around his neck and push him far back.

Nitza put a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming out in seeing Zeb raised high as the droid held him by the thought. She heard him choke, his eyes close to rolling to the back of his head. She was very much afraid then but then the droid suddenly flung Zeb across and over Nitza so that the Lasat hit a crate and then landed on the ground limply. That was when she started to cry. Her tears fell as she ran, not back, but forward. When she got close enough to the droid, she dropped to all fours. She only ran a few feet until she jumped high to aim her forehead into the droid's thigh. Just like she practiced with Bendu.

She fell back though, surprised that the droid had just as much strength to not stumble like Bendu. When she sat up to rub her head, the droid looked down at her with its red glowing eyes. She could only think of one thing to do now. She yelled out, "Stop it! Stop hurting him!"

Zeb's head turned around quickly as he heard her yell. Even though he could see the fear in her eyes, her shaking body as enough to show that she was afraid of the infiltrator droid. After all, she had no idea how to fight, "Nitza…" he tried to say through struggled breath. "Run…" Suddenly the droid grabbed the girl on the shoulder. "No!" Zeb yelled. Fortunately, the droid didn't care much about the little girl and thought throwing her away would best get rid of her easily.

The killer droid swung back and then forward, throwing the girl in Zeb's direction and far over his head. "AAHHH!" she yelled.

"Nitza!" Zeb sat up, managing to reach out grab her in his arms before she fell. Nitza barely had time to look at him, eyes wild with fear, before Zeb put her down to stand. He grabbed her shoulders as he said desperately, "Kid! You can't be here—" The sound of heavy feet running and getting louder behind them made them look back. In the split second they saw the droid charging at them, Zeb pushed Nitza away and stood up to face the infiltrator droid. It grabbed him by the waist and carried him away again.

Nitza sat up from where she was pushed to and watch the droid slam Zeb from one wall of crates to the next until Zeb was flown up and over a set of cargo. Nitza was going to get up and try and stop the fight again but a small metal hand pulling back her dress made her look down to see Chopper. He was telling her something in droid-speak, his tone sounding like a warning.

"I got it! I got it!" Zeb yelled. At that moment, Ap-5 shuffled by to go to where Zeb was. Nitza looked and saw the monster droid had gone to where Zeb was thrown, but the Lasat was now clinging to the droids back. They then both fell out of sight behind the crates. Nitza and Chopper hurried over and around with Ap-5 to see Zeb on his back on the ground, wrapping arms and legs around the monster droid. "Shut it down!" Zeb yelled as he wrestled to keep the monster droid from hurting him. Ap-5 came to kneel down by Zeb to shut down the droid but he kept almost getting hit by flailing arms. Ap-5 told Zeb to hold it down but Zeb was yelling out he already was.

In the argument, Chopper used his metal rod to let electricity course through the monster droid. A powerful kick from its tall leg made the small orange droid fly. Nitza gasped and ran to Chopper who had fallen. As she helped him up, Ap-5 managed to find a way to shut down the monster droid. Nitza and Chopper both went back to Zeb who let the lifeless body of the monster droid fall to the ground. He made a comment to Ap-5 before sitting up to face Nitza. "I told you to stay up with Trac and be safe."

"I know, I know, I was just…" Nitza hunched her shoulders and hung her head. She wanted to come down in the first place to just understand what danger the droid posed. She saw it all when she saw what it was doing to Zeb. She could have run, but she stayed, and even stood up to the droid. All because of one reason. "… just worried."

Zeb's ears slightly dropped but perked up when Chopper said something. All Zeb could say was, "Let's talk about this after, ok." Nitza's frown deepened. She really felt like she messed up somehow. She was lost in thought again that she barely heard whatever was the good news that Zeb asked from Chopper. She came into the conversation when Zeb's tone became harsh and surprised, "Counting down to what?" Nitza looked to see everyone surround the monster droid, watching as numbers on its chest had appeared and were counting down. Ap-5 explained it was some sort of device that blows up. A bomb they called it. But again, Nitza had no idea what that meant except that it was more dangerous than the droid itself. "How much time do we got left?" Zeb asked.

"20 seconds" Ap-5 answered.

Zeb's ears twitched and he looked every which way, nervously. Nitza had no idea what was going on but, even when Zeb asked how to stop whatever the bomb was. Chopper managed to release something from one of his hidden gadgets on the chest of the killer droid. Nitza went up to it to kneel down and look. "Is that what ice looks like?" she gasped, recognizing it from stories the ghost crew told her.

"Yeah but…" Zeb muttered before asking Ap-5 what Chopper did. Nitza was at first mesmerized by the idea of ice, but soon, the ice became something less interesting then she wanted to. She was more concerned about the fact that she was staring at something dangerous. Something that almost her hurt her. Zeb picking up the droid made her break from her thoughts and look up as he said, "Wait, Fulcrum said that if this droid didn't report back, the Empire would find us." He dropped the droid on Ap-5, which should have made Nitza laugh. It didn't.

She was back into deep thought again with the Empire mentioned. She heard it from Fulcrum too, but now that she actually thought of it, she couldn't help but feel guilty. A bomb that could kill several people somehow came from the people who were like. Nitza was totally out of the zone again. She didn't hear the jokes that were being thrown around or the plan that was being put in motion.

"Nitza, I said move!"

Suddenly she felt herself being lifted off the ground by big furry arms. "Hey!" she yelped as Zeb pulled her behind a set of crates with Chopper and Ap-5. She began, "What's going—HMPH" Zeb put a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. He and the others peeked over to see the killer droid in it's smaller form suddenly get up from the ground where they left it. As it began to walk away, Zeb put Nitza down and turned her once again to face him/ "Kid, you have to stay focused. The plan was almost ruined," He hissed through bared teeth. Nitza's breath quickened and she stepped back, afraid. Her guilt spike. She messed up. She got so distracted, she didn't know what was happening until almost too late.

Zeb was too invested in the plan to notice and he stood up to watch the droid about to turn a corner. He, Ap-5, and Chopper walked around the crates to watch the killer droid head towards the exit. "It's leaving the base, good job," he said to Ap-5. Somehow in all this, Ap-5 and Zeb were not annoying each other, while Nitza was left to wonder how as she walked around the crates and stood behind the group. It was probably while she was distracted. She slumped and almost turned around to hide again. She stopped when she heard Zeb say, "Let's make sure it gets home." He motioned the droids forward then looked at Nitza. He looked at her at first peeved, but then his face softened. He reached a handout and said, "Come on kid." After all this, he still wanted her around? She had no idea what to do but follow.


	62. Weapon part 3

Nitza sat slumped and silent in the back of the land speeder, Chopper on her left as Ap-5 drove upfront with Zeb alongside him. Nitza listened to the two up front, getting the details of the conversation. That's how she managed to find out what the plan was that she missed out earlier. They managed to trick the droid into going back to the Empire and letting it explode before the Empire could find out where the droid went.

The speeder slowly went through a path as it followed behind the killer droid. As it turned into a narrow space between a cluster of giant leaflets growing from the ground, Ap-5 maneuvered the transport in and out silently. Upfront, Zeb tossed the transponder in his hand up and down passing the time. He was doing it to keep from looking back at Nitza. Ever since they had left Chopper Base, the little girl had been feeling down. Zeb knew why, but it wasn't time to address it yet.

Suddenly the speeder picked up another signal. Zeb figured it was from a ship. He was right. When the droid turned another corner to go up a hill, the speeder stopped just behind a leaflet so that everyone could see the killer droid go into a pod of some sort. They kept quiet, hoping it would leave right away. Suddenly an antenna became visible from the ship. "That's a long-range transmitter. It's going to contact the Empire," Ap-5 warned. At the word Empire, Nitza perked up and looked.

Zeb, on the other hand, took action as he jumped out of the speeder and said, "Not if I can help it." He aimed his bo-rifle at the pod and shot a blast. Nitza's coward, watching the light that shot out of the rifle break the antenna. Zeb jumped on the land speeder and cheered, "We did it, we did it!" he asked Ap-5 if the droid couldn't contact the Empire it would just leave. Ap-5 assured him that it should follow it's programming, which it did. The ship door closed and the little pod shot into the sky, leaving an exhaust trail.

As it went, Ap-5 began to worry if he didn't calibrate it to explode at the right time. Zeb assured him that his accuracy so far had never failed. "Well, whatever the outcome, you performed admirably, captain," Ap-5 said, saluting him.

Zeb huffed. "A lot's happened today. Not sure if I can deal with you and me starting to get along on top of everything else."

"Hmm. Agreed." Ap-5 said, turning the speeder around. As he did, Zeb finally decided to address the bantha in the room. He turned his head back to look at the little girl sitting quietly in the back, slumping in her seat again. But she was looking between Zeb and his rifle. Zeb knew she had questions, but Zeb had to get to a point first. An important one. "I'm sorry I was rough on you back at the base, kid. I appreciate you trying to save me, but you were getting yourself into trouble that's… that's bigger than you. And you were also not focused. It's not your fault, I mean there was a lot going on but next time you got to be focused—"

"Next time?" she asked worriedly. "You mean there will be more."

Zeb shook his head, "As I said before, not if I can do something about it. But that's not the point. The point is whatever you were thinking, you got to figure it out or you're going to keep getting distracted."

She shrugged her shoulders, "But I don't know how to figure it out?"

"Well, maybe I can help." He put the transponder on the floor of the land speeder as he fully turned around.

Ap-5 said, "Isn't it safer to face forward?"

Zeb ignored him and asked Nitza, "What's been on your mind?"

The little girl shrugged her shoulders, trying to lower her head the farthest it could go. She wanted to have the powers of Bendu right there. To just disappear. But there was no turning back. "What are weapons?"

"Well, you saw what they are today. Blasters, Bo-rifles…. Killer droids."

"But what are they? What else can they do? What did you mean by lockdown and—"

"Woah, Woah, ok," Zeb said, holding his hands up to her. Then he put them down, his ears dropping slightly, too. "Looks like I haven't been the best teacher today." Nitza bit her lip. "Not, your fault, Kid. Well, weapons are… weapons… are… um…. Ah, Karabast." He looked away but his eyes stayed on Nitza. He didn't want to sound like he had no idea. He did, but it would mean telling her the hard truth. And with the wind blowing against him as the speeder continued wasn't helping. "Ap-5, pull over."

The droid complied, slowing the speeder to a stop next to a leaflet. Nitza's breath quickened again, worried that she was in trouble. "Don't worry, I'm just going to answer your questions. Well first off, weapons are anything built to…. harm others." He said the last part like it left a bad taste in his mouth. "And what they can do… well, I'll let Sabine tell you that, she's the weapons expert." Nitza's looked at his bo-rifle strapped to his back before looking at him, worried again. Zeb grumbled. "Yeah, I know. We have weapons, too. Trust me when I say that it's not enjoyable to hurt others—"

Chopper said something in droid speak that Nitza couldn't understand but Zeb could slightly. One word stuck out. Buckethead.

Zeb hissed, "Quiet! I like hitting them with my fists, not the rifle. Now shhhh." Zeb got back to the conversation. "The point is when weapons are being used to mistreat others, then I will use my weapon to protect those who are mistreated. And that's the difference between us and the Empire. We know which weapons to use, when to use them, and most importantly, who can use them. The Empire…. They give no second thought to their actions. That's why they sent that droid with a system that can easily blow up. Nothing but a killer instinct."

Nitza looked up into the sky where the droid had gone. Zeb figured it out again and said, "Yeah, we sent the droid to the Empire to explode. But if they stop us before we can stop them, a lot more people will be hurt in the future."

Nitza nodded as if she understood. She then yawned. Zeb chuckled and said, "Well, it is well past midnight. Almost sunrise. Do you um…. Want us to take you home?"

Nitza looked around and so did Zeb. They were halfway to Chopper base. Nitza then looked in a direction that Zeb looked to. It was a cluster of coral trees up a hill heading away from Chopper Base. "Ok, let's take you back ourselves."

**))))))))))) Atollonians (((((((((((**

Nitza was quiet the whole ride. She didn't even protest Zeb's offer to take her back to the Pit. She hoped Bendu was hidden when they got there. When Ap-5 drove the land speeder to the edge of the Pit, Zeb looked around and said, "Here?"

Nitza nodded and climbed up and over the speeder to the ground. She gave a wave to Chopper and Ap-5 before saying to the Lasat, "Thank you…" and she walked down.

Zeb told Ap-5 to drive away, even though Nitza clearly could see in his face he didn't want to as Ap-5 turned the speeder around. She assured him by confidently turning around and heading down the pit. Once the speeder was out of site and Nitza was down at the base of the Pit the little girl went up to a cluster of leaflets, slumped shoulders and feet dragging. When she sat down in front of it, Bendu's head appeared out of the clump. Without looking up to him, she said, "I know now. I don't like weapons either."

Bendu shook his head. "It's not that I don't like them. They just tip the balance." Nitza didn't understand. Bendu's way was not on a point of view.

But Nitza was a being and learning as well. She only saw two sides. She just said. "I don't like them. She rested in Bendu's arms as the long night slowly turned to day.


	63. Different Things

"So it creates a giant…shield?" Nitza called out from below what Sabine called a Shield Generator.

"Yep!" The colorful girl called out from her post high up next to the giant disk shape structure. She had a screwdriver in her hand as she reached into a small panel on the side of the generator.

"Oh…. But what do shields look like?" Nitza asked.

"Umm…" Sabine's brow raised in thought before she said, "Think like a giant dome blanket…. But it's invisible."

Nitza blinked. "Oh…" she didn't seem impressed. In fact, all day she had been asking questions since she came in the morning but in the end wasn't amazed at learning something new.

It worried Sabine enough for her to drop her work and go down the steps to the girl. "Is something wrong?"

Nitza shuffled her feet, "No…. I just want to know about weapons…."

Sabine stopped in front of Nitza and said knowingly, "The Shield generator isn't a weapon though, it protects us from weapons."

"Ok," Nitza said simply. Her eyes shifted between the generator and the colorful girl.

Now Sabine was skeptical. Nitza had been asking about what kinds of weapons there were, but Sabine thought it was because Zeb told Nitza to ask her. Or maybe it was more. Maybe it had to do with what happened three days ago. Hera almost had a heart attack when they found out not only did Zeb deal with a life-threatening situation but found out Nitza was involved, too. "Does this have to do with that Infiltrator Droid?" Nitza shook her head, then nodded, and then shrugged her shoulders. She was confused. Sabine leaned over, putting her hands on her knees as she bent a bit to be face to face with Nitza. "What are you feeling?"

Nitza looked up at Sabine. She didn't seem to want to say anything, but one word managed to come out of her mouth. "Afraid."

Sabine figured it was about the Infiltrator Droid and she was still afraid of more of those coming. Maybe she hoped in some way the Shield generator would help. "Don't worry, we're safe here with this thing… once it works…" Sabine added as a joke. Nitza didn't react. Sabine reached a handout and asked, "Are you ok?"

Nitza stepped back and Sabine retreated her hand away surprised. What just happened? Nitza began to walk away. "I, I need to go. I promised my caretaker I would go home soon. Bye!"

Sabine stood up, watching somewhat confused and hurt of the girl's sudden departure.

**))))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((((((**

Bendu slept under a couple of coral fruit tree groves when Nitza came running down the path. He opened one eye as he felt her presence come close until she came around the corner of the path. She stopped upon seeing him but smiled. "Hi, Bendu!"

"Nitza," Bendu greeted her. She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around Bendu's muzzled. She nuzzled her face into his and giggled. Seeing her in a good mood, Bendu smiled back. Without turning her head, Nitza's eyes went up to the coral leaf right above Bendu. Bendu saw and even felt what she intended to do. He lowered his head to the ground then threw it back. Nitza gave a yelp as she was lifted off the ground and flew in the air. She reached out and grabbed on to the edge of the leaf. Nitza giggled and climb up and on top of the leaf before going to a pod. Bendu used the Force to lift a small rock up to Nitza and the girl grabbed it to start pecking a pod open.

As Bendu lad his head down again, he asked, "Did talking to the Mandalorian help you understand them?"

Nitza managed to crack open a pod, but she stared at the seed fruit with a hard gaze. "I don't know…" she reached for seed fruit but did not eat it as she said, "I don't want to be angry at them. No, no, no… I like them. They are nice. But…. I don't like weapons. I did what Zeb said. I ask Sabine. There are a lot. There are bombs, and blasters, and fire… things…. I don't like weapons."

"So you are fond of the strangers but not of the weapons, is that your conclusion?"

Nitza dropped the food and laid down on the leaf. She stared up at the sky exasperated. "Bendu, I know you say I should figure it all by myself. But I want you to help me like you used to."

Bendu stood up so that his head was next to the leaf Nitza was on. He began, "Nitza….."

Nitza yelled flustered, "Tell me what to do!" as she sat up to face him angrily.

Bendu heard her desperate cry. Even though she wasn't force-sensitive, her plea was felt through the Force. Her tone, her words, and being…. Nitza… made Bendu feel slightly troubled. For a split second, he felt the need to help her. Nitza was definitely becoming more like any being. Desperate for answers. But then he came flustered of her attitude and was going to scold her. She was becoming too much like them. Then he realized that's exactly the problem. He gave her too much too before the strangers came, now he expected her to use her freedom as a being to come to her own conclusions. Especially being surrounded by Kanan Jarrus and his group, she was forgetting that Bendu had no view. And she was becoming impatient.

He allowed her to be like them, but not as impatient as she was right now. Bendu did what he knew always got Nitza to calm down. He would continue to guide her so she could find her conclusion. "You are fond of the strangers… but not of the weapons. Is that your conclusion?" then he added. "After all, beings and weapons are completely different."

The last part got Nitza thinking. "Different…. " She stood up. "That's why Zeb said that. He said it depends on how they use weapons. I don't like weapons, but I like the people!" She suddenly thought of Sabine and how she reacted to her and left made Nitza feel guilty. "I need to talk to Sabine! I need to, I need to!" Nitza jumped to her feet and ran to the trunk of the tree to climb down. But she stopped before she could even find a divot to hold on to. She looked back at Bendu who was laying back down to rest.

The giant took a deep breath, satisfied that the trouble was over, but bit… tense. No, he wasn't. It was all over, he didn't have to deal with it anymore right. Nitza had it all figured out. He laid his head to rest, but not before he felt someone jump on his head. He lifted his eyes up to see Nitza on his head looking over his brow. She looked down with a smile and said. "Thank You, Bendu."

"I just did what I always do."

Nitza frowned, realizing he was right. But she did what she didn't always do. She had been angry at him. "I'm sorry I yelled."

Bendu grumbled. Well, he didn't like how she went about with her attitude, but it was all part of the growing process of a young being. "Emotions are a part of any being." For a moment he was saddened. She was growing up. Bendu then shook his head. No, stop it!

Nitza suddenly climbed on his shoulder down to his arm where It met the fur on his chest. She laid there in the fluff of his hair and said, "I'll go talk to Sabine soon." Nitza held out some fruit seeds in her hands and picked one up to eat it. "I wanna stay a little bit."

Bendu raised an eyebrow and watched her hold out a seed fruit for him. Bendu held out his hand and let Nitza drop it in his palm. Even though he didn't eat, he still took it. He knew it would mean a lot for little Nitza. He smiled, ate the small fruit and relaxed with the young girl for the rest of the evening.


	64. Learning to Drive

Nitza had finally resolved her predicament with weapons, and was visiting the Ghost crew almost every other day and would come home to Bendu at the end of the day.

One day she was watching Ezra and Zeb fix a speeder as Kanan was meditating far away. Nitza sat at the ramp of the Ghost watching the boys as they worked right outside. She learned a few words as they exchanged tools and supplies. Nitza repeated, "Tele—tela- tel—telescopic?"

"You got it," Ezra said. "It's a mouthful though so we just call it the Lothal bike. It comes white but…." He motioned to the green paint with orange lines. "Sabine had a go at it."

"You say it like it's a bad thing," Zeb commented.

"I didn't," Ezra argued.

Nitza's legs went up and down as she thought until "I want to ride it."

Zeb and Ezra looked up surprised at the suddenness of Nitza's request. "Ok, well…." Ezra began, "I'll drive you. More room that way." He tossed Zeb a wrench and smirked. Zeb knew exactly what the subtext was for those words and he grabbed the wrench with a clenched fist before swinging it towards Ezra.

The boy ducked and laughed at the joke, but Nitza wasn't thinking of the joke or what Ezra meant by it. She said, "No, no. I ride."

Zeb and Ezra stopped fighting and Kanan, from a little ways away, perked up from his meditation. Zeb said, "You mean you want to learn to drive it yourself?"

Nitza nodded. Zeb and Ezra looked at each other. They had no idea how to go about this, or if it was a good idea. "Um…"

That's when Kanan suddenly came around and put a hand on one of the handlebars. "Someone should be on the bike with her, but let her ride." He looked in Zeb's direction. "Less weight the better so she could steer. Sorry, Zeb."

"Eh… well, I rather watch someone else try it out first and fail. I ain't takin about Nitza."

Ezra grabbed the wrench from Zeb's hand and tried to swipe at him. The Lasat grabbed the boy's wrist and started an arm wrestle. Nitza looked back and forth between the two, smiling and watching as they smiled and played. Kanan shook his head. Children….

Later Ezra sat behind Nitza as they were on his green speeder. Ezra explained, "Now you've seen us drive these things but there is still a lot to know. I'll put my hands on the handlebars and you put your hands on top of mine." As Ezra grabbed the steering, Nitza held on to his hands. "So far so good," Ezra assured her.

Zeb sat on the ramp with Kanan standing by watching the two on the speeder just ahead of them. The Lasat chuckled. "Heheheheh… This atta be good."

"Shush…" Kanan warned.

"Now," Ezra said, "See how I'm moving the joystick." When Ezra twisted his wrist, the speeder moved forward. Nitza's eyes went wide as she felt her hand move with his. "See… easy go." Ezra pulled back. "Easy stop." The speeder slowed and stopped.

Nitza smiled. "Oooooo…"

"Now you try." Ezra let go of the bars.

Nitza's eyes went wide as she held up her hands, frozen. "Oh—ok…"

"It's all right. Just do as I did. Easy go."

"Easy go…" Nitza repeated as she tentatively put her hands on the handlebars and twisted the joysticks forward a little. The speeder moved forward gently.

"There ya go."

"Huh… not so bad…" Zeb said.

Nitza then let go and stopped the Speeder. "But don't you go fast? Fast and faster?"

"Yeah, you just twist the joystick farther. The more twist the faster you go."

"Like this?" Nitza twisted the handlebars all the way. Ezra wasn't ready. The speeder jolted forward and Nitza held on but Ezra had not old and the momentum of the speeder left him falling back. It was enough push to making him flip so he fell face forward in the dirt.

Nitza felt the shift in weight and let the twist go to stop the speeder. She looked back to see Ezra sitting up and spitting out dust. Zeb just burst out laughing and fell back on the ramp as he held his stomach. Kanan smirked and crossed his arms. He wasn't going to make a show but it was funny. Nitza covered her mouth in shock and then called out, "Are you ok?"

"Don't worry *cough* Nitza." He kneeled and waved a hand at her, "Not your fault. Could have been worse."

"Are you kiddin?" Zeb yelled between laughs. "That was great, kid!"

Ezra shook his head. "Yeah, yeah, you're laughing now but this won't last!"

"I don't know about that," Came Hera's voice. Ezra looked away from Kanan and Zeb and looked to his right. There standing was Hera, Sabine, and Chopper. The droid had his optics focused and a small red light flashing. He had recorded the entire thing. Sabine bit her lip to keep from laughing as Chopper gave his own little laugh. "Ah…. Varp…" Ezra cursed.

Nitza smiled, seeing the others laughing, but worried for Ezra. The boy seemed unfazed, though, as he stood up and dusted himself off. "Ok, let's work on your turns."

**))))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((((((**

"And why must I turn left?" Bendu asked as he walked down a spacious dirt path. His eyes trailed up to his left horn where Nitza sat on.

She smiled and said, "Because speeders turn left when you twist the left handle. Just like I said."

"I am not a speeder," Bendu stated.

"I know, silly," Nitza said as she climbed to the edge of his horn and held on to one of the points. "That's why when I sit on the left, that means you turn. Turn, turn!" Bendu grumbled and turned left. Nitza laughed before she climbed down Bendu's horn and onto his head. "Now go straight!" Bendu lumbered forward. Nitza then jumped onto his right horn and climbed to the top point. She even went and hung on to it from her hands, her feet dangling in the air. "Right!"

Bendu went right. Nitza laughed and even gave a howl of joy. Bendu smiled. Well, it wasn't harmful this…. Speeder take… on their sunset walk. It made it different. Not repetitive. Enjoyable.

Nitza climbed back up on his horn and rolled down onto his head. "Straight!"

Bendu went forward, walking over a hill and heading towards the Pit far ahead. The sun setting just over the horizon and lighting the way for the two going home.


	65. Traveling part 1

Nitza was with Bendu one hot sunny day when they both saw something peculiar. They were far from the Pit, having walked many miles east when they saw the strangers.

"What?" Nitza said curiously. She jumped down from Bendu's head and ran over to a random pit of dirt. Unlike the Pit Bendu and Nitza reside in, this one had nothing but tall coral leaflets surrounding it. Nitza crawled to the edge as Bendu walked quietly over to the only large coral tree nearby. He used it to camouflage and watch what was going on in this pit while Nitza crawled over to the edge to look.

Bellow were several crates, a land speeder, some random equipment Nitza had never seen before, and small shelters made out of some weird material. Nitza was wary at first before she saw who was done there. Kanan was sitting on some crates with Fenn Rau standing by. Ezra and Sabine were in the middle of the space left in the pit to move around. They had sticks in hand and were swinging them left and right in sync.

Bendu grumbled. It had been several hundred years since he had seen a Mandalorian learn the ways of the saber, but like any other Jedi, the saber always managed to spark some sort of imbalance. Bendu thought back to a land lush with life and water. Now he could feel nothing but dry land stripped down by eons of war. Mandalore.

Nitza had no idea of such a history. All she knew was that she was intrigued by the movements. Nitza stood up and leaned over, not noticing the ground below her feet was weak. As she watched, she moved a little as well. As Ezra and Sabine stepped back, Nitza did too. When they swung their sticks left, the little girl imagined a stick in hand and did the same.

Bendu noticed, slightly annoyed that Nitza would want to learn how to use a lightsaber. But all the giant could do was let her curiosity grow. Suddenly Nitza took a step closer to the edge where the ground was loose. It gave out below her feet. "Ah!" she yelled as she felt herself fall. She ended up on her back but then the steep sides of the pit made her role down to the base. Nitza slowed to a stop on her side before coughing up dust that she stirred up from her fall. As she sat up to wipe the dust away, she noticed everyone stopped what they were doing. Sabine and Ezra looked at her with a mix of shock and worry. Kanan was up on his feet. Fenn was in an alert stance.

Nitza gave a sheepish grin and smiled. "Sorry… I didn't mean to… uh… fall?"

"It's ok, Nitza," Ezra said. "Are you all right?"

The little girl stood up and dusted herself off of the dust that was left. Good thing she was wearing her old rags. "Yep, yep, yep!" She put her hands on her hips.

"How did you get all the way out here?" Fenn asked. "The base is miles west."

Nitza shrugged her shoulders. "Walking." She saw nothing wrong with that.

Then Sabine added, "You walked from your home near the base which is at least five miles from here. You must have started bright and early just to come here at this time."

"No, I wake up at noon."

"It's evening. It should have taken you all day to get here."

Nitza's eyes widened and she put her hands behind her back. Now she realized where the problem was. As she rolled on the balls of her feet, her eyes shifted everywhere but to her friends as she said, "Uhhhh…. my friend carries me on his…. Shoulders – yes—and he has…. Big feet."

"Big feet?" Fenn questioned.

Kanan and Ezra looked at each other, realizing Nitza needed help to cover for Bendu. Kanan said, "Her caretaker is pretty quick on his feet. Living here for so long he learned to be a fast walker to get to places quicker." Then his head cocked to the side, in the direction Bendu was hiding.

The giant's eyes narrowed. Was the Jedi Knight asking for a thank you for coming up with an excuse? Kanan didn't have to keep Bendu a secret, even if it did mean saving the trouble for the non-force sensitives to comprehend a creature of the force of nature.

Sabine raised an eyebrow. Nitza could tell she wasn't going to believe it, so she quickly ran to where Fenn stood next to the little shelters. "Ooooo, what's this?" She started out faking it but her genuine curiosity took over in an instant. She stuck her head in the opening and saw a flat mat and blankets. "It's like a little home." She giggled

Once Nitza pulled her head out, Fenn reached over and closed the opening. "That would be my tent," he said a bit peeved.

"Tent?" Nitza repeated, ignorant of her invasion of privacy. She walked around the tent and then the next. Sabine and Ezra took this time to rest by sitting on some crates nearby. They watched the little girl go to one crate where a cylindrical item was placed. "What's this?"

"A lamp," Ezra answered.

"And this?"

"A portable stove," Sabine told her.

"And those?"

Fenn walked up to Kanan and asked, "Are we going to just wait until she points everything out?"

"I have a feeling she won't be staying long enough to do that." Again, he cocked his head towards where Bendu was hiding. Bendu huffed. He was in no rush. And quite frankly, he was entertained by Nitza's bombardment of questions just as much as the young Padawan and the Mandalorian girl were.

"What do you do with this?" Nitza asked she pointed to a big tank.

Sabine answered, "Fuel in case the speeder runs out on our drive."

Nitza nodded and climbed up onto a stack of crates. She opened the top one and looked in. The first things she saw was a thin object but had a thick enough grip to hold it. She pulled it up and held it for every to see. "What's this?"

Everyone was on alert, even Bendu. Kanan came rushing to her and grabbed the object from her hand. "Maybe not the best idea to hold the darksaber."

Bendu scowled. Of all the lightsabers it had to be that one. How they acquired it, he didn't care. It brought destruction in the past. What would it bring now?

"It's a lightsaber?" Nitza asked, seeing the similarity of the design. "Who's is it? Who, who?"

"It was made my a Mandalorian of old, and will now be Sabine's to wield," Fenn answered, motioning to said girl.

Sabine muttered, "If I ever get to even hold it…"

Kanan heard this, her tone telling him this was directed straight at him. Nitza had no idea what was going on. All she saw was the tension as Sabine's eyes darted at Kanan and gave him a glare. Nitza looked at where Bendu was and froze. She saw him lumbering away. Not wanting him to leave her behind, she started to run to the edge of this pit. "Ooops! I have to go."

"Go where?" Fenn asked. He looked at Kanan for answers. Only being able to say so much, the Jedi just shrugged.

Nitza yelled back, "My friend and I came here to scavenge together. I need to go with him. Bye!" She left Fenn and Sabine in complete confusion as she made it to the top of the pit and disappeared over the edge. Kanan crossed his arms, knowing where she was going. Ezra caught sight of something. A tip of a horn before it vanished.


	66. Traveling part 2

Bendu stood under a giant coral tree that was twice his height. There he waited with his palm outstretched as little fruit seeds fell from over the top of a leaflet and down. Catching them all, he looked up at the source. Nitza appeared over the leaf and began to climb down. She hung from the leaflet she was on to let go and fall to the next one. She landed in a crouch and did it again. after the third one though, she didn't check twice and when she let go she fell past the one she attempted to land. "Ah!" she yelled but felt herself fall backward onto something soft.

Nitza sat up to see she had landed on Bendu's other palm. Looking back she saw him give a raised eyebrow. "Oops, I… didn't see."

Bendu just shook his head, "Nitza…"

She giggled in response.

Sitting down to face the sunset, Bendu looked down to watch Nitza go to his other palm where almost a hundred yellow and orange seed fruits lay. He said impressed, "A good find this time. The orange ones are quite rare."

"That's why we come here. Long, long time since last time." She grabbed an orange fruit and bit into it. She looked out to the sunset.

"You've been busy," Bendu told her.

Nitza shrugged and looked to her right. She saw the giant tree half a mile away. The tree near the pit where the strangers were. "Sabine's learning to use a lightsaber."

"Darksaber," Bendu corrected her.

"So if fighters of Ashla have lightsaber… what does a Darksaber mean?"

"Nothing. But to Mandalorians like your two friends, it means this Sabine is considered a leader."

"Ooooh."

"Probably the reason they are out here, to train."

Nitza looked at Bendu curiously as she took a bite of another seed fruit. He had that knowing look. "What's wrong?"

"Imbalance."

"How come?"

"Think of Atollon, but it is nothing but sand." Nitza looked around at the valley they were in. Full of trees. She imagined what Bendu said. "The canyons are dry. There is no river below."

Nitza gulped. "Dead world?"

Bendu nodded. "The Darksaber has been a catalyst for many wars that destroyed the planet of Mandalore."

Nitza gasp. "Sabine told me that's where she is from." Nitza put all that Bendu told her together. "Oh no." then she got curious. "Why would she want that saber?"

"Perhaps to stop a war or to start one."

Nitza immediately said, "No, no, no. It's to stop it."

"There are many possibilities."

Nitza bit her lip, knowing in Bendu'ssense he was right. But Nitza held out some doubt. So she made a decision.


	67. Traveling part 3

The next day, Nitza took a walk inside the bowels of a krykna cavern. She crept around the many small holes in the walls. She would look in first and check for spider eggs before reaching in and grabbing what she needed. For every hole, there had been several hundred eggs. Then she finally found it. An abandoned nest with leftover cobwebs. Just what she needed.

Bendu waited outside the cavern, the noon sky shinning down and the large tree creating shade just for him. When Nitza walked out, he asked, "Found what you needed?"

Nitza held up her right arms. It was entirely covered in cobwebs. "Yep, yep, yep!"

At sunset, Nitza held in her hand a hand made pouch made of the cobwebs. Bendu held out his outstretched where he had the orange and yellow fruit berries they had gathered. He let them roll off his big hand and into the web pouch. The bag extended a big due to the added mass, but the stickiness of the web kept the contents inside. "Got it!"

"Let us go back then."

Bendy began to turn around and head west. Nitza held the pouch in one hand and used the other to help her climb up the giant's tail, up his spine and to his head. Hoisting herself up to the top, Nitza said, "But we got to see my friends."

"It is not a requirement."

"I want to… I want to ask."

Bendu huffed. Well, it wasn't like they would veer off course entirely. It was on the way after all. As they got close to the pit where the strangers were, Bendu felt a nearby presence. He stopped. Nitza looked over his brow and asked. "What's wrong?"

"Someone comes."

Nitza quickly jumped off his head and went down to his shoulder. Sliding down his arm and landed on the ground in a crouch. That's when Bendu began to lay down, going into camouflage mode. When he was down Nitza climbed up and over his forearm to hide between his shoulders and the fur on his chest. The only thing she let peek out was her head. Her eyes trailed to see Sabine walk up to them. Nitza smiled and whispered to Bendu, "It's Sabine." She was getting ready to jump out and say hi, but she didn't. Sabine looked angry. It made Nitza lower her head more so that only her eyes and forehead were visible. Sabine got behind Bendu and out of rage kicked him right on the tail.

Bendu was a creature of patience and tolerance, but he would have gotten up and said something about the action if he wasn't so adamant about remaining hidden. After all, it was best to observe first what made this Mandalorian angry.

The young woman sat at the base of his tail, looking out into the sunset. A glum look was on her face now. This made Nitza want to get up again, but then she heard Ezra call out. Nitza and Sabine looked to see the boy had stopped a few feet from Bendu. Nitza wondered if he knew Bendu was there. But she wanted to see what was going on first. Sabine didn't seem to want him around, but Ezra didn't seem to want to give up on whatever was happening. "Look, I know what it's like, believe me. Kanan isn't the easiest teacher to have, but he means well."

Bendu and Nitza figured that they were talking about her training with the darksaber. It made more sense when Sabine replied saying how confident she was in learning to use the saber. Bendu wanted to shake his head. He knew it was never about how good or bad the teacher was. It was the method of teaching that was good or bad depending on the student's learning abilities. Then Sabine said something that made Bendu want to turn his head. "I just don't want everything that comes with it." Sabine stood up and continued to look to the sunset.

Nitza thought of what she said and connected it to what Bendu told her the night before. The Darksaber made her a leader. She didn't want to be?

"You mean your family?" Ezra asked.

Nitza cocked her head. Sabine's family? Sabine finally turned around, almost yelling, "I'm a disgrace to them. A traitor."

"But that's not true," Ezra tried to argue.

"To them it is. You don't know. No one does." Sabine looked away.

Nitza was left confused. What was a traitor? Bendu though was more intrigued now. It made sense though. What was a Mandalorian doing far from Mandalore? Sabine continued to yell, saying she didn't want to talk about having left her people and not being a leader. Nitza was slightly released. By the sound of it it seemed like Sabine wanted to do good with the darksaber. But maybe that wasn't the question she should ask.

It got quiet, and then she heard Ezra say, "At least you have parents to go back to."

Nitza's mouth dropped. Ezra… didn't have parents? But he said he had people on his planet of Lothal.

Sabine called out to Ezra but he was already turning around and walking away. She got angry again and kicked Bendu's tail once more.

If the giant wasn't busy taking into account all that had happened, he would have definitely gotten up to give her a lecture on kicking someone. Even if he was just a force giant. Nitza hid, watching Sabine walk farther towards the sunset. What just happened? After Sabine was clear over a small hill, Bendu slowly got up, Nitza holding onto his fur as they both looked on. The little girl then climbed down and held her small web sack of berries.

Bendu looked down at Nitza and said, "It seems that the question to ask isn't what she will do with that saber."

Nitza had so many questions. Sabine had only told her she was Mandalorian and her family was on Mandalore. Now she is considered… a traitor… whatever it is it sounded bad. And her family thinks she is bad? Nitza wanted to run and ask so much, but she heard what Sabine said. She didn't want to talk about it. Bendu was right. Questions about such an odd topic weren't the right ones. Not yet. "Maybe I should ask if she is ok?"

Bendu motioned his head towards the hill Sabine went. That may not be the only question, but it was probably a step forward to avoid confrontation. Nitza smiled and ran towards the hill. "I'll meet by Sunning Rocks. Soon!"

Bendu called out, "Make sure she also knows to be careful where she lets out her frustrations."

Nitza turned back and smiled. "Ok!" then she continued to run.

Bendu smiled before in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

**)))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron (((((((((((((((**

Sabine continued to march forward to… nowhere. She didn't care where she was going. She wanted to feel for away as possible, especially after what she made Ezra do. Sure he didn't have to pull the dead parent's card, but she did make him desperate. All he wanted was to help. But how could he help?

She left Mandalore because she found out the true side of the Empire. They were going to use her weapon on her own people. She had to destroy it. She had to leave. To protect her family. But they would never understand. Tallied themselves with the Empire to protect her clan. No one would understand, not even—"Sabine!"

The young women stopped dead and turned around. "Nitza?" she exclaimed seeing the little girl run to her.

Her hand-holding… were those webs? "Hi, Sabine."

"Hu-hi? Um, what, where did you come from?"

"I was around."

"You were?" Sabine looked back from where Nitza came from. Same place she had been with Ezra. She winced before looking down at Nitza. "How much did you hear?"

"A lot. I don't understand much though. I want to ask… are you ok?"

Sabine was taken back. It was a broad question but a considerate one. Even if she did find it easier somehow to talk about her past, she didn't know how much Nitza would understand. But it seemed Nitza was more worried then pushy. Like Ezra, she just wanted to help. Wanting to make up for what she did, Sabine said, "I'm just nervous. All I can say is that I'm about to do something I think is impossible."

Nitza cocked her head to the side. "My Friend says that nothing is impossible. There are many possibilities."

"He says that."

"Yep, yep, yep!" Nitza looked down at her bag of webs and reached in. She held out an orange fruit like thing and said, "Seed fruit makes me feel better. Have one."

Sabine looked at it and then grabbed it. "Is this why you and your friend are all the way out here?"

"We like to forage to the best trees. They are all the way out here. They have orange ones. And orange is tasty."

Wanting to show gratitude Sabine took a bite. Liking the sweet flavor she said, "It's good, thank you. I think I am feeling a bit better."

Nitza giggled, feeling she accomplished something. Then she held the bag tight and said, "I need to go, My friend is waiting. Bye!"

Sabine blinked as Nitza suddenly darted away, "Wait, what—'

"Oh," Nitza gasped, stopping. She turned and said. "My friend wants you to know to be careful about what you kick."

"On what I what?" Sabine said confused.

Sabine watched her go. It was an odd and quick encounter for sure. And she had no idea what Nitza meant about kicking. Kicking what? The rock she sat on earlier? Then he wondered if Nitza would ever ask what had happened. But for now, she was happy the little girl made her happy. In fact. She felt a bit more… confident. Especially after what Nitza said. There were many possibilities, bad ones, and good ones. Sabine looked back to where the camp was in the distance.

**)))))))))))))) Atollonians (((((((((((((**

Nitza ran a couple of minutes over some hill until she got to a flat clearing. Nothing but boulders piled on top of each other was at the center. From biggest to smallest, finishing at the top. The sun hit them with no tree big enough to block the light from hitting it. That's why she called it, "Sunning Rocks."

"Nitza." The little girl turned around and saw the giant behind her. He looked down at her and said, "Did you ask?"

"Yep, yep, yep. She's all right. Yes, she is!"

"And you told her about—"

"The kicking. Yep! Nitza then began to climb up his arm and then sat on his shoulder. "Let's go!"


	68. Traveling part 4

"Come on Chopper!" Nitza yelled.

The little girl ran out of the Ghost's cargo room, having come by High Trees the next day after her and Bendu's trip. Bendu was tired once they got back to the Pit after their trip. Wanting to sleep the next day away, Nitza thought to do otherwise. She found Ezra, Sabine, Kanan, and Fenn were still out. Zeb and Hera were in but busy. Thankfully the droid wasn't.

The droid rolled down the ramp and stopped right outside with Nitza. "Ok," the little girl began. "I hide you seek. Go seek, go seek!"

Without protest, the little droid's arms popped out and covered his optics. As he began to make sounds that sounded like counting, Nitza ran and went to hide behind some leaflets nearby.

She hid there and waited, slightly giggling. After a while, she decided to peek out behind a leaf. Right there was Chopper. Nitza gave a squeal of delight and ran. The droid followed after her, the two going back towards the ship.

**))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron ((((((((((**

Hera was inside the cockpit of the ship, working on a datapad when she heard the sounds of screaming. She looked up and outside, a bit frightened as to what was happening. She then saw Nitza running with a smile toward the ship with Chopper on her tail. Hera sat back and relaxed. It was great to see Nitza again after a while. Hera looked down at a bowl she had propped on the dashboard. The yellow fruit seeds Nitza introduced to her once before were in there. The little girl had brought some to share. Along with them were red ones she said that were rare on this planet.

Hera smiled at the consideration. Grabbing one from the bowl, Hera bit into a red one. "Hmmm, a lot sweeter than the yellow. I wonder where she gets them?"

She looked out into the distance. She wondered about what would make them rare and where, and in thinking of where, she thought of Sabine. Hera sighed. They've been gone for a week. Sure the last she talked to Kanan was last evening, but it had been quiet since. Did that mean they were making progress finally? Was Kanan still being passive? If not worse. Distant?

"Now you go hide," Hera heard Nitza say outside. "Yep, yep, yep."

**))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((**

Nitza closed her eyes and counted. "One, two, three…." She counted to ten and opened her eyes. The droid was nowhere in sight. Yet. "I'm coming! Yes, I am!" She walked around the Ghost three times, not seeing the Chopper. "Hmmm." She walked towards the base of the tree where the A-wings were docked. She went from one after another. Then she went to the B-wings. One seemed… odd. Unlike the others, there was an orange part sticking out from the back. Where the droids would sit.

Nitza ran up to it quietly and then tiptoed as she got closer. Then she popped up and yelled, "Boo!" Behind one of the side engines. Chopper gave a yell and using his single jet, flew up into the air. He landed on the other side to get some distance and began to roll away. Nitza gave a laugh as she ran after him with arms outstretched. The droid gave what sounded like a laugh too. Nitza felt like was about to pick up speed and go too fast, but once he got past the Ghost, he suddenly stopped. Nitza ran right into him, falling back on the ground.

Sitting up, she shook her head of the dust that collected on it and looked at Chopper with concern. "What's wrong? What, what?" Nitza leaned to the side to see in the distance, coming past the transponder border, was a familiar land speeder. She gasped. "THEY'RE BACK!"

**)))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron (((((((((((**

Hearing Nitza yell made Hera look up again. This time she saw a land speeder coming with the rest of the crew and Fenn. She got up quickly. Going down the ladder to the ramp, she stopped just outside as the speeder came to a halt. Kanan and Ezra jumped out first before Fenn and Sabine got off as well.

As Kanan and Ezra came to Hera, Nitza came running in and yelled, "You're back!" She wrapped her arms around Ezra's waist. Ezra smiled and patted her head.

Hera asked, "So I'm guessing by the fact you're here that the training was successful."

Kanan began. "There is still some training—"

"Karabast…" Sabine muttered. She then went to stand next to Kanan.

The man crossed his arms and said, "But the harder part is done."

Sabine smiled and nodded. "Yeah… I feel a little better now having gotten a lot off my chest. And used the darksaber."

"Oh finally," Hera almost exclaimed.

"I know, it took him so long!"

"Ok, you two," Kanan said as the two women giggled.

Zeb came around to help Fenn Rau unload the speeder. That's when Nitza let go of Sabine and asked, "So, you are ok?"

Sabine nodded, "Yep. Thanks for those red fruit berries, by the way."

Hera looked at Sabine shocked, "She gave them to you, too, when?"

"Yesterday. Where we were was the place to get them, apparently."

Zeb stopped mid-walk up the ramp and asked, "But, how? You guys were miles out in the wild."

Fenn walked by, pushing the crate in as he said, "Her caretaker apparently has a way of getting around quickly, on foot."

"On foot?" Hera repeated. Zeb and Hera looked at each other before looking at Nitza.

Nitza bit her lip and Ezra tried to change the subject to help the little girl out. "Man, kind of wish I had some of those berries."

Hera raised an eyebrow, "Now, wait a—"

Nitza cut in, "Hera has a bowl in the cockpit." Nitza looked at Hera pleadingly. "Can he have some?"

"Um… sure…"

"THANK YOU!" Nitza ran up the ramp. Ezra right behind her.

Sabine yelled out, "Hey wait!" She ran after them.

Kanan was about to walk past Hera but the women held out a hand to his chest, "Nuh-uh"

"You know I can't say anything," Kanan told her, knowing exactly where was going to go with this. "Besides, she's fine. She made it here safe today right?"

"You're unbearable."

Kanan smirk, "And that's what you love about me."

Hera scuffed but gave him a smirk of her own. "Sure." But she frowned. Hera had enough. Fine, she wasn't going to ask Kanan anymore. She couldn't ask Ezra without changing the subject. And she knew if she tried asking Nitza, the girl would just run. So if she couldn't ask them… Hera looked out into the wilderness.


	69. Intervention and Extraction

A couple of days later, Hera took action. When word got around that the Empire probably knew who Fulcrum was, Ezra immediately came up with a plan of extraction. It included Rex and Kanan. That left Sabine to prepare for her trip to Mandalore and Zeb on another assignment. Good enough for Hera. A long while since the Kanan had been gone, well into noon, Hera was checking diagnostics on the personal speeder when Sabine walked into the cargo hold after practicing with the dark saber outside. "Why do I have to stay behind while you go searching for… well… whoever is taking care of Nitza."

"In case Kanan comes back while I'm out, I need you to cover for me if he asks where I am."

In thought, Sabine fiddled with the darksaber before asking, "What should I say?"

"Well, tell him I'm going to bring Nitza some food. It's not entirely a lie. I am going out to look for her, too, anyway."

"Still..." Sabine began. Just as Hera stood and was ready to get on the speeder, Sabine said, "Don't you trust him?"

Hera froze, one hand gripping a handle and the other the seat cushion. She looked at the wall of the cargo hold. Sabine just had to say it. Of course, she trusted Kanan. Doesn't mean she can't go outlook for this mysterious person herself, right? Then Hera realized how much of a hypocrite she would be. A couple years ago on the asteroid, Sabine argued that Hera was keeping so much from her. And Hera told Sabine to trust her anyway. Well... Hera turned around slowly to look at Sabine… she caught the Twi'Lek off guard that's for sure. All Hera could do was be honest about why she was going out. "Doesn't it freak you out how fast she got out there into the wilderness where you were? Or how she talks about her caretaker being all anti-social?"

Sabine bit her lip and her eyes shifted to look outside. The sun was high in the sky. The vast land of coral trees was quiet. Somewhere out there, Nitza was with some stranger. Yes, Hera was being a nervous wreck when she had to be trusting, but the protective instinct in Sabine made her agree. Something was up. "Fine…" Then she said, "Head south, that's where she normally comes from."

**))))))))))))) Atollonians (((((((((((((**

Nitza was with Bendu by the Pit. It was oddly chilly out, even if the sun was up. So Nitza decided to get herself war, she would find a way to move out. She chose to play with dokmas.

Bendu was asleep, resting his head on his arms when he woke up hearing Nitza laugh. He opened one eye and watched as the girl chased a group of dokmas around. Her favorite she called Print was lagging behind. She picked him up and pulled him into a hug. Then Bendu watched as the girl began to walk up the side of the Pit. "Where are you off to?"

"To find more dokma to chase. There is a lot on the other side of the hill. So many of them." She pointed to a small mound not far away.

"All right." Was all Bendu said. He would go but the girl needs to get more energy out of her system than him. Besides, he had a feeling the little girl should go. As the little girl left, Bendu went back to sleep.

**)))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron (((((((((((**

Hera was soon on the speeder, with a portable transponder in hand, as she road out into the wilds. She got to a point where the trees and leaflets became denser. She had to maneuver the speeder slowly between the flora before she found herself in a wide space. More accurate, at the edge of a giant pit. A pit… The Pit. Like Nitza had always talked about. "This must be it then." But there was no one. Just a couple of trees and leaflets. No one else. "Huh…" Nitza had mentioned a couple of times she would go out for the day with her friend. "Maybe…". Hera revved up her speeder and moved on. She hadn't noticed a large cluster of leaflets had disappeared all of a sudden.

**)))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron/ Fulcrum Extraction ((((((((**

So the plan to get Agent Kallus didn't go exactly as Ezra had wanted to. Thrawn ended up bringing his fleet to inspect the security around Lothal just after Ezra pretended to be a bounty hunter captured by the Imperial Cruiser Kallus was on. Ezra barely got the escape part of the plan in motion before Commander Lyste decided to boast about capturing a bounty hunter. It interested the Imperial Chiss enough to have Ezra transported to a cell on his ship. The only favor Ezra had was that Thrawn hadn't figured out it was him yet. The problem was now he and Kallus had to find a way to escape a Star Destroyer without Thrawn knowing. And to make matters worse, apparently, Thrawn was getting close to locating the Phoenix Squadron secret base. Now they had to escape, as well as raid Thrawn's office to do a memory wipe of hid data. Thankfully Ezra was a quick thinker. Ok well, he had Kallus for help. Which lead to the boy having to ditch his bounty hunter outfit for something else.

As Ezra walked out of a closet into the hallway, wearing an Imperial Commander's outfit. He held the hat in his hand as he stared at Ap-5, Chopper, and Kallus waiting for him. Chopper gave a series of warbled sounds which made Ezra say, "Don't comment."

Kallus pulled out Lyste's Data Cylinder he stole from his pocket. He planned to give it to Ezra right there, but he also pulled out something else. He put back Lyste's cylinder and decided he would give it Ezra when the time was right. He needed to give him something else first. "Here…" Kallus said as he held out to the rebel a small flat and round device.

Ezra looked at it. "A data card?"

"A request from Garazeb. I risky attempt when he asked, may I add."

Ezra immediately knew what Kallus meant and took it. "Trust me, he didn't want to either, but I convinced him."

"Your idea that? So why did you have me research this family."

"Family?" Ezra asked surprised.

Some chatter was heard from down the floor, along with heavy footsteps. "Troopers." Kallus warned. He pushed Ezra forward. "Let's go. Thrawn's office is this way." Ezra, Chopper, and Ap-5 followed.

Ezra put the data card in his pocket, thinking of the reason behind the request Kallus was talking about. It had been about Nitza at first…. But now Kallus said something about a family. Was it Nitza's family? Was there more to that Imperial tag? Ezra put the cap on his head, feeling it irritate his brow line. "I like being a bounty hunter."

All Kallus could say was, "We all have to make sacrifices."

**))))))))) Phoenix Squadron/ Wilderness Search (((((((((**

Hera had continued south, probably farther than any of the patrols they had sent out before. There really wasn't that much different. At least to Hera. Coral trees, Coral leaflets, Dokmas, Kryknas…. All she had seen before. But no Nitza, or any other person. Hera slowed down the speeder and held the transponder tightly in hand. Not only did she feel like she wasn't getting anything done, but the farther she went the more guilty she felt. Sure she had a reason to try and find this mysterious person. She managed to convince Sabine enough to get her to help and stall. But who was she kidding? Hera knew she was right. Sabine knew herself she was right. Why didn't she trust Kanan after all this talk of putting faith in others?

Hera brought the speeder to a halt and looked on. This wasn't a good idea. Besides. If Nitza's caretaker really moved as fast as they said, then there was no way she could catch up. And for Nitza, even though the girl wasn't in the Pit. She could have gone, west, or east. Heck, she could have taken another route and was at the base for a visit. Hera shook her head. Hera was about to rev the speedup and turn around when something shin hit her face as she began to turn. She stopped and blocked the light, moving her head away to see again. Though bit dimmer now that she moved, Hera still saw a small light by the base of some trees, just beyond the grove she was in.

Hera pulled up towards it, finding she had to cross a wide space, like a road, to get to the shiny object. Hera stopped, not seeing an object or a light. It was metal reflecting light from the evening sun. Getting off the speeder and stabbing the transponder to the ground, Hera went closer to the base of the tree. She noticed a small clump of leaflets, only as tall as Hera, growing on top of the metal object which was as big as a land speeder. Half of it poked out of the ground, the other was dug into the dirt. Hera didn't see rust but faded burn marks all around. So it seemed at first hard to tell what it was. But Hera reached through the roots growing around it, pulled away at some before getting deeper.

That's when she saw it. An Imperial symbol! Hera stepped back, red flags raising as questions ran through her head. What was Imperial property doing on a planet that had no record of Imperials in the first place? Suddenly, she took in the size again. As big as a speeder… Hera stepped back and realized something. The back there was exhaust vents. The front was a metal bumper. "It is a land speeder!"

Suddenly she heard something snap behind her. Hera turned around and looked down. The transponder was broken… in half! "You've got to be… fragging….." She cursed under her breath as she bent down and held the two pieces in hand. "How did this happen?" Suddenly she heard hissing. Her dropped the broken metal and out of reflex reached towards her belt where her blaster was. She saw a krykna crawl out of a nearby hole and begin to roam around. Then it looked at Hera. The twi'lek reached a hand down to her holster where her blaster was. But before she pulled it out, she heard Nitza's words of caution and peace in her head. Hera grumbled. She so badly wanted to believe the little girl, but how can a person become friends with a man-eating monster like this? Especially if she didn't have a Jedi's power to connect.

Just as it was getting closer, it froze to a halt. That's when Hera felt a gust of wind pick up behind her and in a flash, she was engulfed in a small sandstorm. Hera closed her eyes as the wind whipped around her. She felt her lekku fly a bit and bits of sand and dirt go into the through the sleeves of her clothing. What was going on? She heard a noise, a grumble. Hera managed to open one eye halfway to see. The sun looked like a small bright circle, its light trying to break through the storm. But something else did. A giant shadow with… horns? The rumble was heard again, this time Hera hearing it come from the shadow. Hera was frightened. What was that? Suddenly the storm picked up as the rumble grew louder, making Hera close her eyes tight.

As soon as the storm started, it stopped. Hera opened her eyes when she no longer felt the gust of wind or the sting of sand. Looking around, the ground lay undisturbed. The only sign that there had been a storm was the sand stuck to her skin and clothes. She heard a hiss and looked back, seeing the krykna had made a break for it during the storm and was hiding by the entrance of the tunnel now. But there was no sign of that creature Hera saw. Or did she actually see something? Whatever. She had to get out of here before the krykna decided to get brave again. She hopped onto the speeder and quickly drove away. Her direction. Back to base.

**))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((**

Nitza had gone back to the Pit, not finding Bendu there. "Hmmm…. Where he go?" she asked Print who rested in her hands. The little dokma was too tired to even gave a squeal to respond. Nitza understood. She was tired too. She had been playing with the dokma all day. She managed to get to the center of the pit when she felt a small gust of wind behind her. Then a shadow loomed over her. Nitza smiled and turned around, "Hi, Bendu!"

"You have returned from your daily fun," Bendu said walking past her to go rest under her tree.

"Uh-uh…" Nitza answered. Then she tried to copy his tone of voice as she said, "And you returned from your… your… where did you go?"

Bendu said, "One of your new friends decided to leave High Trees and go far south."

"Why?"

"Considering it was not one of the Jedi, perhaps she was in search of you."

"Who?"

"The Twi'Lek."

"Hera… aw looks like she didn't find me."

"Looks like…" Bendu repeated. But he didn't say anything else. Nitza didn't ask. Bendu did wonder what this Hera was doing out exactly. Because it seems what she did find was unexpected to her.

**))))))))) Phoenix Squadron (((((((((**

Back at the base, the stolen Imperial Shuttle landed on the docking area of the control station level. Walking out one by one, Ezra, Kanan, and Rex walked out as the ramp opened up. "Well, it could be worse," Rex continued after an earlier conversation. "We could have managed to get Kallus out and only get caught. But we didn't get caught."

Chopper and Ap-5 were behind them, the astromech adding to the conversation with his own series of chirps. Kanan replied to the droid, "How do you manage to come up with a worse case scenario like that? I like Rex's better."

Ezra added, "I'll be honest, anything is better than today."

"Kallus thought he could do more," Kanan reasoned. "Like any of us would have done."

"Yeah…" Ezra halfway agreed. As they got closer to the center of the control station, Ezra began to get nervous. And seeing Commander Sato waiting wasn't helping. "I'm going to hate this debrief."

As the got to the light table, Commander Sato was on a communicator calling for someone. He looked concerned. Rex asked, "What's wrong, Commander?"

"Captain Syndulla usually isn't one to never answer within the first two calls," He answered.

The three returners looked confused. Hera, not answer? They then saw coming from up the man-made stairs was Zeb and Sabine. From afar Ezra could see the Mandalorian women nervous. Kanan could feel her nervousness. Both thought though it had to do with the trip to Mandalore. But then things got a little weird. Sato asked the two walking in, "Any luck contacting Captain Syndulla?"

"Nope," Zeb answered. "There must be some interference out there in the wilderness."

"Out where?" Kanan asked. "She's not at the base?"

Sabine's nervousness escalated. Zeb answered, "She went to look for Nitza."

"Since when do you guys go out looking for Nitza?" Rex asked. "Doesn't she come to you?"

Kanan put it all together real quick. "She does…" he said disappointed and crossing his arms

The tension spiked and it wasn't just from Sabine. Ezra flew a hand quickly to the chest pocket where the data disk Kallus gave him was. Zeb noticed and looked at Ezra confused. Which made Sato look at the boy. And then it made Rex and Kanan look at him. Sensing his nervousness as well as Sabine's, Kanan began, "Ok, what have you two been up to?"

Sabine was confused, thinking Kanan was talking about Hera being out. "Ezra wasn't here though."

Now Ezra was confused. He thought Kanan was talking about Nitza's Imperial tag. Sabine was taking the fall? "But I found it," Ezra said out loud and then immediately regretted it.

"Found what?" Commander Sato asked.

Now Zeb, who was as confused as the other, was not confused anymore. Now he was nervous. "Oh that's what—"

"Zeb, you're in on this?" Kanan asked.

Feeling put on the spot, Zeb went to defend himself, "It was Ezra's idea."

Sabine was still confused. "What are you talking about? You weren't there!"

"Yes I was!"

"STOP!" Came a loud yell. Everyone looked back and saw Hera rushing in. "I leave for an hour and I come back to mayhem."

Kanan's brow forward and he opened his mouth to speak, but Hera beat him to it. "I know, I know. I shouldn't have gone out looking. That's why I'm back…" She said the last bit in a guilty tone. Kanan nodded. She wanted to talk, but now wasn't the time. "And I come back to see Ezra dressed up not as a bounty hunter. Rex has bruises all over his face. No Kallus. And you're all screaming."

Ezra sighed and explained what happened. How the plan changed and what they had to do. In the end, they did manage to mess with Thrawn's plans enough to mislead him away from the true location of the base. Their identities hadn't been discovered and Kallus remained Fulcrum without the Imperials noticing. But that was just it. It wasn't how it was supposed to go. "Well, none of our plans ever really go the way we want them to," Hera reasoned. "But why go about yelling?" She looked to Zeb and Sabine.

Zeb, Sabine, and Ezra looked at each other confused. "Actually, we don't know why…." Ezra began.

"Ok then say it out loud."

"Um… that would require us telling you something that we should have talked about with you…. but we never did…"

Now Sabine finally got what was going on. "Oh…"

Hearing her, Zeb's ears dropped and he said, "Yeah… that…."

"What…." Hera now said with a bit of annoyance.

Ezra pulled out the data disk. "We had Kallus research an Imperial Tag I found with Nitza when she was sick."

"A what now?" Kanan asked.

Sabine explained, "It's a thing that some Imperials do when they find their… friend group so to speak. They make tags with a secret code that represents who they are."

"How did she get it?" Rex asked.

"That's what we're trying to find out," Zeb asked. "We hoped Kallus would be able to figure it out since he had better access to the data."

"So you asked Kallus… but you didn't ask…" Hera began.

"Yeah," Ezra flushed "Nitza doesn't know."

"She doesn't—" But before Hera finished, she thought it best not to say anything. After all, she went to go searching for more answers. Behind Kanan's back. She was already caught being a hypocrite once she wasn't going to do that again. "Ok, ok, fine. You obviously had your reasons…"

"Wow really?" Ezra askes surprised. "I thought you would….um…." Hera was giving him a death glare.

Chopper gave a warning sound. Zeb grumbled. "Still busted? You were in on this, too!"

"Chopper!" Hera yelled.

Chopper coward a bit behind the table.

"All right!" Sato cut in. Then he said calmly, "Quite frankly, I'm still trying to understand how your crew works, but that is something you can discuss later. Right now, Ezra Bridger has brought us valuable information. This girl has remained a mystery to us. I agreed with you in the beginning, Captain, that we were to learn through observation. I believe that fate has finally given us a sign that we must intrude. If Imperials are involved…"

Hera sighed and looked at Kanan. Yes, he couldn't see her, but he knew what she was thinking. He nodded. Hera was a bit surprised. He had been standing by Nitza's privacy since day one. She'll never know the reason why he had agreed.

Kanan asked Ezra, "What did you find?" If it had nothing to do with Bendu but it had something to do with Imperials, he wanted to know.

So did Ezra. With a confident look, Ezra slid the small disk into a port. The light table lit up and immediately several files appeared one by one. It was overwhelming but there seemed to be an organized bit to it. One file was a lead into the next, and the next until finally the last one. Which made everyone, even Chopper, gasp.

"The poor thing…" Hera whispered.


	70. Revelations part 1

Since Hera had come to try and find Nitza, the next day the little girl decided to go to her. "Maybe she wanted to play," Nitza reasoned as she got into her nice dress Sabine and Hera made for her.

"I do not believe playing would be the first thing in mind…" Bendu told her as she climbed down the tree. "There are many options. But, perhaps."

"Perhaps…" Nitza repeated when she got down to the base of the tree. She twirled around and let the hems of her dress fly around. Then she looked up at Bendu and smiled. "Ready!"

"Off you go, then," He said as he reached his head down and moved it forward, nudging Nitza on her side.

She giggled at the contact and then began to walk out. "Bye!"

Bendu smiled at first, but when the girl turned around, he frowned. He watched the girl go, thinking of what today would be like for her. Knowing that the Twi'Lek had discovered something of Nitza's past, Bendu believed today would be the day when Nitza would finally face what she had been dreading the most.

The little girl went on. Climbing up and over small hills and passing by trees. She followed the familiar trail towards High Trees. When she got to the transponder border, she looked around for familiar faces. At the base level where all the ships were, there were many people, some pilots, but one stood out. "Ezra!" She yelled as she ran to the boy. He was standing under the Ghost, his hands in his pockets as if he were just standing there. Waiting. What was he waiting for? She stopped right in front of him and said, "Hello."

"Hey, Nitza…" He replied, nervously. He seemed to not want to look at her, but something else made him try. He said, "You did come."

"I did, I did!" She said excited but then she frowned, again hearing his tone. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," He said forcefully. Ezra bit his lip before rubbing a hand through his hair. "I'm fine. But…Look um… we want to talk to you."

Nitza got excited. With a loud gasp, she almost yelled, "Are we learning something today?"

Ezra smiled, but then his eyes said he was worried. "Um, kind of. Here," Ezra held out his hand. Nitza took it tight and looked up. "Come on." Ezra and Nitza walked together up the man-made stairs of High Trees. Halfway to the control level, Ezra said, "Hey, just so you know. Whatever happens, everything is going to be fine."

Nitza was confused. What was going to happen? Would she learn something she wouldn't like? Well, Ezra said everything was going to be ok. She should trust him. They got to the control level and saw a couple people around, including the Ghost Crew and Sato. As Ezra and Nitza approached the projection table they were around, Sato saw them and called out, "Everyone, please clear out and give them some room. You all have other assignments after all."

Everyone complied, leaving their stations and heading either up or down the man-made steps. Nitza watched in wonder before her eyes landed again on the crew. She saw Sato put a hand on Hera's shoulder before walking away with the others. He walked by Nitza and gave the little girl a nod. She wave, they still astounded by what just happened. Ezra had her stop in front of the table and face Kanan, Sabine, and Zeb on the other side. Ezra staid by her left as Chopper rolled in on her right. On the far right by the pain control panel on the table was Hera. Nitza finally had enough. Ezra's awkward words and behavior, everyone leaving, and all the crew staring at her with worry. Nitza asked, "What's going on?"

Everyone looked at Hera and she looked at the projection table. Her eyes stared down at the light as she concentrated on something. Then finally she said, "Nitza. Since we meet, you have learned many things. And you've loved doing so because according to Kanan, you don't remember much of when you were younger." Nitza nodded. That was true. Bendu did tell her that Kanan knew of what little memory she had. Hera continued, "Well, we want to ask first what you can remember. Remember when I asked you about what ships you had seen before. You told us about a Star Destroyer. Do you remember where that comes from?"

Nitza's hands slowly went behind her back. Chopper saw this as the little girl began to twiddle with her fingers nervously. Nitza kept it all hidden as best she can, but she was definitely freaking out. Why the sudden interest in her past? They asked her already months ago, and they knew they couldn't get anything more out of her. At least, she wouldn't tell them. She couldn't. She may not remember much but she does remember her family was Imperial. Nitza shook her head and answered Hera's question. "No."

Hera looked at Kanan who looked at her as well. Though his mask was off, Nitza could tell they were somehow sharing a silent conversation. Something was up. Something made them want to know more. Hera said to her, "Star Destroyers are owned by the Empire. I'm sure you've heard us talking about them." Nitza nodded her head. She remembered walking into conversations when they were talking about how they would stop the Empire. But she also remembered the times she would overhear them when they didn't know she was there. Sabine said the Empire was made up of bad, emotionless, people. Zeb said how much he wanted to crush them. Nitza's little barefoot tapped up and down over in over out of nerves.

Chopper saw this too and knew it was time. He waved a hand up so Hera could see. The Twi'Lek nodded in agreement, but she needed to make sure of something first. "Know that what we have mentioned about the Empire before, it has nothing to do with you."

Being young, Nitza was confused. Where were they going with this? Hera then looked at Ezra with a bit of anger. Ezra gave a sheepish smile as he turned to face Nitza. But when he saw the little girl's face, he frowned. Again, he had a hard time just looking at her. Why? Ezra pulled out something from his pocket but kept it hidden in a fisted hand as he bent down to kneel in front of her. He said, "I was just really curious…." He looked a Hera who gave nothing but a stoic expression. Nitza wondered what happened. Ezra looked like he wanted help, but he wasn't going to get any. Nitza looked at his fisted hand. What was there? Ezra continued, "When you were sick, I found this hanging from the walls of your hollow. And I took it because I saw this…" He unclenched his hand and revealed the item. Nitza's hair on her neck went on end. Her body went rigid. Her eyes went so wide anyone could almost see the veins. In Ezra's hands was her father's chain. Ezra pointed to the symbol on the back. "This is the Imperial symbol. And knowing that you don't remember much of your past, I thought I would use this to help you find out." Hera cleared her throat, making Ezra wince and add, "And I'm really sorry I didn't ask you first. Really… I am." He held it out to her.

Nitza made no move to grab the chain. She just stared at it. Ever since she made the first contact with the strangers, she had completely forgotten she had that chain. She had been so busy learning so much, Nitza didn't even know the chain had gone missing. Because they wanted to find out more… and they knew now. She didn't know the symbol was that of the Empire. But they knew. If only she had known she would have hidden it. All she knew was that it was her father's. Her father who was Imperial.

Soon the feelings came with the realization. The Ghost crew knew. She should have seen the signs. Them talking about the Empire and how she didn't know much of her past. She felt so embarrassed. And then embarrassed was replaced by something else. Nitza became absolutely frightened. She looked at everyone. Hera, Sabine, Ezra, Zeb, Kanan…. even Chopper. They all looked worried. No, why would hey be worried. They know now. If anything they were afraid. Afraid of what? Of her. Nitza was Imperial.

Her vision felt like it blurred, or was the scene in front of her just pulling back. Like a scope. Hera slowly walked around the table towards her. "Now… hold on Nitza…." Nitza looked down at her feet. She was stepping away. She looked up again. This time Hera had come around the table and was getting closer. "Nitza… I know it's—" Nitza didn't want to stay and here more. Yes, Hera knew, Hera and everyone. Nitza was Imperial. She would not be welcome anymore. She was Imperial, and like Zeb said once. Imperials were evil. Nitza turned and ran. "Nitza no!"


	71. Revelations part 2

Nitza just couldn't believe it. How could she have been so dumb? To think no one would find out.

Nitza ran down the manmade stairs until she got to the second floor. But the rest of the way down was blocked by pilots walking up. Her fear from seconds earlier made her think a mile minute. What if the crew told everyone? What if they were keeping her from running away. Her flight response made her run left towards the edge of the big leaf she was on. But that's when she spotted Sato. The man saw her. Confusion was on his face and he called out to her, "Nitza!" Again, the fear of people knowing her past made her make a right, to the maze and towers of crates.

**))))))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron ((((((((((((((((((**

The crew followed Nitza until they lost sight of her going down the steps. They made it to the second floor in which they heard, "Captain Syndulla! The twi'lek stopped, making everyone behind her come to a halt. Commander Sato was running up to them and said, "I just spotted Nitza running into the supply area. It looks like she isn't taking the news of her parents lightly."

Relieved that Nitza hadn't left the base, Hera ran past him, quickly saying, "We didn't even get to that part yet. Whatever you do, just leave it to us." Sato watched the Ghost crew followed their captain into the mass of crates.

Once in, all six of them stopped. Zeb asked, "Shouldn't we ask Sato for help. It's a maze in here."

Hera answered, "Exactly. Nitza doesn't want to be found. She feels trapped and scared so she made it harder for us to find her. It will be easier if she just sees a few people, especially us, trying to find her. We'll show her we're not trying to hunt her down or anything. We need to show we want to help."

Sabine came up next to her, "Hera, I think she's lost trust in anyone, including us."

Hera sighed. "I know… and that's not going to be the worst thing today. But we have to try."

Everyone nodded. And went in. Splitting up, everyone took different paths in the maze. Kanan took one that was just a long stretch. He felt his hand brush against the crates. Just a nice long wall making a sort of hallway out of the crates. Suddenly he felt something off. There was a large gap between two crates. Large enough for someone like Nitza to fit in. Kanan would have continued if he didn't remember that Nitza was good at hiding in small spaces. Kanan listened, letting sound be his eyes. He heard something small. Heavy breathing. It had to be, but Kanan had to make sure. He extended his senses but he didn't have to go too far.

Nitza's fear was strong.

He said in an almost whisper, "Nitza…."

He heard a gasp and a quick shuffle. Kanan quickly ducked and tried to reach though, "Nita, wait, hold on! We just want to talk!" But he felt no one there. His hands touched nothing, his senses through the force felt her presence disappear. "Kriff…" Kanan cursed.

**))))))))))))))))) Atollonians (((((((((((((((((**

Nitza left her hiding spot as soon as Kanan spoke. She should have remembered his blindness wasn't a weakness. She skidded on the ground to make a left. Then she saw a dead end made up of a wall of crates. She thought to turn back, but she worried they were behind her. Maybe she could hide somewhere they wouldn't look. Up. Nitza climbed the wall as if she were climbing the coral trunk, scurrying up until she hoisted herself to the top. She then laid flat, hoping to stay there unnoticed.

The afternoon soon turned to evening. The girl stared up at the leaf above her the whole time as the crew called her name. But the calls faded. Maybe they were done looking. But what would they do now? They wouldn't just leave her, would they? Nitza decided best to leave now before they decided to come back. She looked to the other side and saw a stack of crates set like stairs. The problem is they were a bit of a distance away. She got on all fours and jumped, landing down on the first step. But turns out they weren't secure. The jump made the crates tumble. Nitza tried to jump far away to avoid getting buried underneath, but it wasn't far enough. When she fell, she fell face forward and felt a large amount of weight on her right foot. "AAAAH!" She cried out as she felt a sharp sting.

She managed to turn her body enough to look back. Her leg had been crushed by several crated. She sat up slowly, biting through the pain as she used her hands to try and push the crate off. She pushed with all her might, but the more she did the more it hurt. There were just so many crates!

"Nitza?" she heard a gruff voice. "What happened?" No, no. She knew that voice. She looked and saw Zeb just at the turn of the corner. The Lasat who hated the Imperials to the core. She began to panic. Zeb found her, and was going to hurt her! She struggled more and more to pull away, this time kicking the crate with her other foot and even punching it with her fist. "Hey, hey, stop," he began to walk to her. "You'll hurt yourself more." Nitza didn't listen. She kicked and punched harder. "Nitza, easy there."

"No, no, no…" she began to whisper as he stepped close enough now to tower over her.

"Hang on now—"

"No, no please, no—"

"Nitza—"

"Don't please—"

Zeb kneeled down to her, "What are you—"

"NO!" She yelled as she just stopped struggling and fell to her side in a fetal position. Her foot still stuck under the crates. "Don't hurt me, please." And she began to cry. She just couldn't hold in the fear anymore. Nitza had no idea what was going to happen to her. What would he do? She closed her eyes and cried. Ready for whatever may come.

Suddenly she felt the weight on her trapped leg lighten. She looked up, breath hitched as she saw Zeb lifting up one crate after the other with all his might. He would toss them aside, not caring for the contents inside. When the Lasat got to the one right on top of her leg he said to her, "Move when I tell ya'." Zeb lifted the crate from the bottom and said, "Move!"

Nitza, without thinking, moved her trapped leg when she no longer felt the weight of the crate. It pained her a bit to do so, but she did. She sat up and reached a hand out to touch it. She hissed, feeling a sharp sting. "Ow…."

Zeb dropped the crate and kneeled down to her again and reached out, "Let me take a look at—"

"No!" Nitza retreated back, trying to scoot away but her hurt foot didn't even get her an inch far from Zeb. She closed her eyes again, more tears falling down her cheeks. She just couldn't look. But then she felt a hand go on her shoulder. Nitza froze. Then she slowly turned her head and looked up. Zeb was looking at her. He wasn't angry. He was... sad? Why? He then held out his other hand. Palm up, towards her. Nitza looked at it. Confused. And then a familiarity. The crew always did it, to welcome her when she came. Ahsoka did the same when she first met her. And Bendu… when she first met him.

Out of instinct Nitza reached a hand out and rested it tentatively on Zeb's. He made no move so she looked up with tear-filled eyes. He gave her a sincere smile. He wasn't going to hurt her. Even though she lied. A wave of relief and guilt came at her all at once. Nitza burst out crying and lunged forward. Zeb sat up as the little girl rested on his chest, one hand reached his shoulder where there was exposed fur. Just like how she tried to get comfort from Bendu. Nitza cried out, mouth open in a wail. Her eyes were shut tight but the tears still came through. Zeb reached down and wrapped his arms around her in a hug as he tried to console her. "It's ok, kid, you're all right. You're all right."

"I- I'm s-sor-sorry—"

"Shh—hey—don't say that. You don't have to be sorry about anything, all right?"

Nitza continued to cry, but Zeb's words slowly calmed her down. She quietly sobbed into his chest but still held on to tufts of fur on his shoulder. Then she felt a hand on her own shoulder. She opened her eyes to see Hera. The Twi'lek sat kneeled next Zeb and she too gave the little girl a comforting gaze. Nitza's eyes shifted around as her sobs became nothing but small hiccups to catch her breath. She saw Sabine come to kneel behind Hera. Ezra and Kanan soon joined as they sat in front of Zeb. A small arm tapped her in the back, making Nitza wiped the tears away and look behind her. Chopper had come to the other side of Zeb. They were all here. And they weren't going to hurt her. Nitza was confused. So confused.

Then Hera reached a hand out to Ezra. He knew what to do, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the chain that belonged to Nitza's father. She could only stare again as Hera grabbed it and then held it out to Nitza. "Here," she said in a sweet tone. Nitza's eyes shifted between the twi'lek and the chain. Why would they want her to have it? The fact that it was the only thing the girl had of her family, Nitza went and grabbed. She looked at the odd squiggles which she knew now were numbers. Then she looked at the symbol in the back, which she know knew symbolized the Empire. Hera said, "I think we came up to you too soon. I think it's best that you tell us." Nitz reached up and whipped astray tear off the little girl's face before asked, "What do you remember?"

Nitza looked at the chain again, this time imagining it around her father's neck. Then she remembered. Nitza took a deep breath and began, "We were going on an adventure…."


	72. Revelations part 3

Everyone listened to Nitza as the girl sat on Zeb's lap. She looked down at her father's tag. It was a bit rusted but still smooth enough her fingers didn't hurt when she rubbed it. She was more worried, but Nitza tried to relax. After all, the crew only asked is what she could remember. So she told them, "We always went on adventures. My mom and dad would take me to different worlds. I don't remember those worlds. I only remember what daddy said. He always said the adventures will help the Empire. But I don't know why."

The crew seemed to want to tell her something but held back as something else became obvious. Hera said out loud, "You knew before we even told you."

Nitza nodded and then continued. "We came here alone. Only me, daddy, and mommy. We were on a speeder. We were laughing…." Nitza faltered when all of a sudden, she wasn't only telling the crew, but she was seeing what she was telling. She felt herself in the back of the land speeder again. The trees of Atollon passing. The last rays of the light before sunset shining through the breaks in the branches. She felt small again, sitting up on the seat and holding on to the edge to look over and watch the ground pass by below. Her father and mother had said something making the little girl laugh. She was pointing out different things saw because she was astounded, and her father just as astonished. It was a whole new world to her back then. For that one little moment, Nitza felt happy. But then she remembered what happened next.

Nitza frowned. "Then a spider came out in front of the speeder…" Everyone noticed she called the krykna a spider, but they didn't want to acknowledge it yet. This was important. "Daddy tried to move away. I don't know why…. I remember next only fire and… and crying…" Nitza rubbed her fingers over her father's tag. "I couldn't find my mommy and daddy…." She saw it all again. What was left of the crash. The speeder in flames with the krykna it hit now burning… with her parents. Nitza tried to shake off the memory but it was hard. Smoke all around, almost choking her. She remembered the other krykna coming after her and the fear of being eaten making her run. She was so scared then. Nitza wanted nothing more than her parents to come to rescue her. To be in their arms.

Nitza suddenly felt a tear come down her face. She used her other hand to rub it off and look at the lone drop on her finger. She hadn't thought of her parents like that in ages. She forgot about them. She didn't realize how much she missed them until now. Suddenly, a gloved hand reached out and held hers. Nitza looked up at Hera. Nitza could see in Hera's eyes she didn't want to tell her something, but something made the twi'lek say what she had to say. "Records that a friend of ours was able to find of your father… lead to records of your family… up until their disappearance six years ago."

Nitza looked confused. "Disappearance?"

Kanan answered, "Imperial data says the last known trajectory was the Lothal System, this system… and since Atollon is in the Lothal system as well…" He looked at Hera.

The pilot finished. "I came across a speeder far North from here. It was burned and broken, but I saw the Imperial insignia. I didn't want to believe it belonged to your parents when I read the record but… then you told your story. It all makes sense now… I'm so sorry that happened to you. No one as young as you back then should ever have to go through that." Ezra was slightly struck by how relatable Hera's words were. He thought about his parents. Hera continued, "And if something like that is hurting you, it's ok to talk to us. There is no need to hide it and run away."

Nitza bit her lip and shrugged. "I didn't run because of that. I only started remembering pieces now."

Ezra asked curiously, "Wait? Didn't you agree you knew before we told you."

"What happened to me… I remember now. About me being Imperial… I started remembering before I met you. I heard... a lot." Nitza suddenly hugged herself. She didn't want to say it. She felt so ashamed and scared. They were passionate about what they said about Imperials before. And then they said to today that what they said didn't matter. So what was the truth? She was scared to find out. They were understanding now but….

"When you first snuck around the base," Sabine said, "You heard us talk about the Imperials—oh my gosh—" Sabine's realization made everyone realize.

Hera put a hand over her mouth. "Oh, hun…"

Nitza felt the tears come down again, "I heard Sabine say Imperials were evil. I heard Zeb say he wanted to hurt them… I did- didn't want to t-tell you… I didn't w-want to get hurt—"

Zeb immediately felt guilty. His ears dropping to the side. "Karabast… I did say that…"

Nitza looked away from everyone, "Am I a bad person?" She knew Bendu said that being one thing didn't make her another. But she just couldn't help but doubt him this once.

"You're nowhere near bad," Sabine said quickly. "Heck, I don't see you hurting a hair on anyone."

Zeb reached out and pulled Nitza to rest against his chest as he told her, "What I said was wrong and I'm sorry. I have met some bad Imperials, but sometimes I've met some goods ones. And knowing yah… you're a good one."

Hera reached out and put a hand on the girl's lap. "I couldn't agree more."

Chopper grunted something in droid speak. She was confused but Ezra translated, "Chopper's right. Your parents were Imperial but they didn't seem so bad. We'll show you."

A little while later, everyone was upstairs surrounding the holo-table again. this time Nitza was in Zeb's arms. Her foot still hurt but she was more interested in what Ezra had to say. He pulled up some files. A picture of a woman and a man very familiar to Nitza showed up on the screen. Words were inscribed on the side of each one. Hera explained, "They were part of the Planetary Scout Division. It means your parents were in charge of finding new planets for the Empire to set up bases. Your father was in charge of structure as your mother was in charge of environment and resources. Sure they did it for the Empire, but only because they were lead to think what they were doing was good."

Kanan then cut in, "And you know what… he… says about the difference between knowing and doing good."

Nitza smiled, "Yep, yep, yep." Hera looked at Kanan curiously, but whatever the Jedi meant, it made Nitza happy. Hera didn't want to ruin that. After all, minute by minute the girl seemed to get more joyous by the minute at every bit of news. She managed to figure something out by hearing something. "They search for planets. They were explorers?"

"I guess you can say that," Sabine said with a small giggle. "That would explain how you're so good at getting around. You love to explore as much as they did."

Nitza almost jumped off of Zeb's arms in excitement. "They were just like me!" she began to remember the smiles she and her family shared. The times they would sit together and read or draw. She felt happy, no, she felt loved. Nitza held out her father's chain and then put it around her neck. She grasped the pendant and said, "They loved me…"

"I'm sure they did, kid," Zeb assured.

Ezra got excited, "We have a lot more files on your parents. We even have your homeworld—"

"Let's wait until later," Hera urged. She then walked over to Zeb to be right in front of Nitza. "First we got to get a look of that foot."

Nitza bit her lip, "Do we have to?"

Sabine had come around and inspected the girl's ankle. It was beginning to swell. "It's not bad but it's getting worse. We'll ice it and put it in a bandage. It won't hurt too much."

"Ok," Nitza said nervously.

"Don't worry, kid, we got yah," Zeb told her. Nitza smiled rested her head on his shoulder. All her nerves were gone. She felt safe again. She felt the love that her parents felt for her long ago and suddenly she knew why these people card for her. Because like her parents, they felt the same way towards her. They were like family.

 **))))))))))))))** Atollonians **(((((((((((((**

A great amount of peace swept across the land. Bendu had been curled up in his hidden state, but he smiled as he slept. A great burden had been lifted. The truth would bring more.


	73. At Peace

Bendu was still asleep by the time he heard the familiar engine of a speeder get closer. He reached his senses out and felt the familiar light of the Jedi Knight. He looked up from his camouflage state and saw Kanan ride in with Nitza sitting behind him. When the man got off, he reached out to the girl. In turn, Nitza wrapped her arms around his neck, and he carried her towards the giant.

Bendu stood up and lumbered over to meet them halfway. He saw the bandaged foot with a small splint wrapped with it. "I see today's lesson was a lot more… physical."

"You can say that," Kanan said as he held Nitza out. Bendu held his hand down, palm faced up.

Nitza crawled onto the giant's hand, but before he could lift her up eye level she was already rambling. "Bendu, Bendu! I found out so much! My parents were explorers like me."

Bendu said with interest, "Is that so?"

Nitza nodded. "They did it for the Empire but they only thought it was good, so they were good. I love my parents. And—and—and the crew found out but they weren't mad. They were helpful when I was scared. They said I was nice. Just like you said."

"I didn't say you were nice," Bendu said. Nitza cocked her head to the side confused. Even Kanan was interested in where this would go. One eyebrow raised. Bendu continued, "I just said that you chose your own path. If you strive to be nice, strive to be nice."

Nitza giggled, "I know I am." She hugged his big thumb and said, "You were right." Bendu smiled before looking down at Kanan.

The man said, "So you did know something about Nitza."

The Giant answered, "What she learned about herself, I learn along with her."

"Yep, yep, yep," Nitza agreed. "And I will learn more and tell Bendu all about it."

"Make sure that sprained foot is better before you decide to come back to the base," Kanan warned as he walked over to his speeder.

Nitza called out, "Five days. Sabine told me. I don't walk much. Not a lot. I know."

Kanan got on his speeder and nodded before driving off.

Bendu looked to Nitza and asked, "Feeling more enlightened?"

Nitza nodded before she yawned. As she rubbed her eyes she said sleepily, "Can I sleep with you?"

Bendu only nodded.

The next morning, Nitza woke up to the feeling of fur all around her as she held on to something smooth. She opened her eyes, adjusting first to the light before her eyes landed on what she was holding. She had her little arms wrapped around what she could reach of Bendu's finger. Then she felt around for the chest fur she laid against. Then her eyes stopped at Bendu's head. He snored lightly, not having woken up himself. Nitza wanted to get up without waking him and started to climb down. But the hurt foot she forgot she had made her wince when she felt a sudden jolt of pain. "Ow…" she hissed and held it.

Bendu's eyes fluttered open and he turned his head slightly towards her. "They said you should not move so much."

"I didn't want to wake you up. You were sleeping."

"I do not need to sleep. You can wake me to move if you so wish."

"Hmmm…" Suddenly a low grumble was heard and Nitza held her stomach. "Ugh… I am kind of hungry." Then she gave a sheepish smile.

Moments later, Nitza was on top of Bendu's head as they went under a nearby grove of coral. Nitza gave shouts of joy as Bendu had used his hands to crack pores open and get the fruit seeds for Nitza. As he put the seeds on top of his head where Nitza could grab them, Bendu asked, "This is only temporary. You know that."

Nitza grabbed the seeds and gobbled them down faster then she had ever done before. When she finished a couple, the girl said, "Awwww… but I don't have to look for food. I could just lay down."

"Work stimulates a strong mind. It is functional, not a waste."

Nitza blew a raspberry out of fun before eating some more fruit. She then looked up at the sky and saw the bright blue sky. She had an idea. "Bendu, I wanna swim!"

Later, the two were at their favorite watering hole. Many of the animals were out for a drink. Bendu sat at the edge of the water. He had one hand out towards the middle of the pool. There, Nitza swam around, using one leg to kick out so she wouldn't hurt the other one. When she got tired she would hang on to Bendu's hand. After a couple of moments, she sat on top of his palm. He took that as a sign and brought her to sit on the shoreline with him. Nitza had run her hands through her wet hair and looked around smiling. All the animals were at peace, just like she was. "There is a saying among beings…" Bendu said all of a sudden. "The truth can set one free."

Nitza cocked her head to the side, dissecting Bendu's words, before her face lit up and she said, "Oooooo. I say the truth and I feel better." Bendu nodded. Then Nitza frowned, "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. You said a long time ago I can be something else. I don't have to be like my parents."

Bendu considered her words now and then thought back to that conversation long ago. "It is true the path one seeks does not have to be one like their predecessors. But there is something common among all beings and the ones who teach them. The learners often trust more those they know less than those who teach them."

Nitza was confused again, and this time didn't understand right away. So she asked, "Am I the learner?"

Bendu asked, "What do you think?"

"Bendu…." Nitza groaned, laying against his side. "Just tell me."

Bendu wouldn't answer her, but he did say, "Remember, what you did is normal in how one grows up. What you learned will bring you to where you need to go."

"Where will I go?"

"Where you chose to go."

Nitza groaned. "Bendu…"

The giant chuckled. It made Nitza laugh a little, too. Suddenly the animals around stirred. Bendu looked up sharply. He watched the horizon and saw nothing but a clear day. But something different was coming. Nature would change again soon. Nitza sat up and looked around. "Is something wrong?"

Bendu said calmly, "Nothing is wrong,". It was true after all.

"Ok," Nitza said passively. She proceeded to stand on her one foot and then hop forward until she was knee-deep in the water. Then she just fell forward into the pool of water. Bendu, not expecting such action, let out a hearty laugh. Nitza sat up in the water laughed, too.


	74. What's Next?

A couple days later, Nitza sat on Bendu's head as the giant lumbered through the forest on the main path. They were headed to High Trees.

Nitza fixed her rags so that she felt comfortable and ready. "I wonder what else I'm going to find out today? Maybe I get to find out what planet I'm from."

Bendu asked, "I see… do you remember what the planet might be like?"

"Hmmm…." Nitza thought back to the scary nightmare she had when she was sick. The fever dream. "Tall… structures. Buildings I think Sabine called them. Oh and… I saw many, many, many speeders!"

Bendu grunted. "Too much noise."

Nitza giggled, "You're just mad you're too big for speeders. Way, way big."

"So you tell yourself," Bendu finished with a smile. Once they got to the treeline before the open space bellow High Trees, Bendu reached up towards Nitza and set her down using the force. Nitza sat on the ground and looked at her sprained foot, the bandage now gone since it had gotten dirty the day before. "Should it not be wiser to leave you closer. To heal you must keep your movements limited."

"They said to not walk on foot," Nitza began to stand up on her one good foot. "I hop." She hopped as she turned around and continued to hope to the edge of the treeline. When the ground began to slope down to the open space she continued to hop. Bendu watched as she began to go down the slope and then suddenly with a loud yelp she disappeared.

**))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron (((((((((**

Inside the Ghost, Kanan was following Hera up the ladder and into the cockpit. Hera was in the middle of saying, "…. And it came out of nowhere Kanan, there should have been some warning. I even asked people at the control level for any anomalies that were recorded. Nothing. It had to have been that creature, whatever it was." She had already talked to Kanan before about her encounter with the storm creature. But at the time they were more concerned with confronting Nitza of her history. So when Kanan said it was a conversation for another time, she agreed then. But only then. Now, it was finally time to convince him she hadn't made it up.

Kanan, on the other hand, was close to telling the truth. So far all he had done to avoid bringing up Bendu was talking about him as an anti-social survivor who takes care of Nitza. It was partly true and for that reason it was easy. But ever since Hera said she encountered a giant hidden by shadows created by a storm… Kanan knew time was almost up. Sooner or later he would have to tell her about Bendu. But for some reason, deep down, something told him it wasn't time. Bendu had to remain a secret until the time was right. So… he had to lie, even if it hurt him to do it to Hera. "But something the size of those trees seems impossible."

"I saw glowing eyes," Hera almost yelled, stomping towards the pilot chair and sitting down

Kanan sat down next to Hera, "It could have been the sun."

"Atollon has one star, Kanan, I saw two."

"All right, all right. I won't argue. You saw something. But no one else has."

"There must be some sort of sign that it's out there, and you and Ezra always go out there. You're bound to bump into something odd, right?"

"Well if I see anything I'll let you know."

Hera relaxed, looking outside. "Thank you," then she thought of his words. "Wait a minute." Her head turned back to look at the Jedi. He was smirking. "Was that a deliberate pun?" Kanan gave a laugh. Hera shook her head and looked back out again and saw something. Something big. Hera rubbed her eyes, making sure she wasn't seeing things. When she opened them again, she saw nothing out of the ordinary except Nitza tumbling down a small hill towards the border. "Oh no."

"What?"

"Nitza!"

**)))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((((**

The girl laughed as she fell before coming to a stop at the base of the hill. Then she felt the pain on her foot. "Ow… to much moving."

From above, she heard Bendu give a small cry, "Nitza!"

"I'm ok," she said wincing before sitting up and looking up the hill. But she didn't see him anymore. "Bendu?"

"Nitza!" She heard someone else call her name. Looking at the border, she saw Hera running towards her with Kanan behind her. The woman went down on her knees immediately, getting right up to Nitza and checking her over, "Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"I'm ok. I slipped only."

"You shouldn't be up on your feet. You heard Sabine. You can't be moving."

"Sabine said to wait five days. I wait five days. And look!" Nitza held up her foot. "It doesn't have weird coloring anymore. Look." She wiggled her toes. There was a small sting but it didn't bother Nitza.

Kanan chuckled lightly as Hera became a bit flustered, "Just because you can't see anything doesn't mean it's healed."

"I can hop."

"Well, hopping still will irritate it."

Kanan finally said to Nitza, "No use arguing."

Nitza gave a long, "Huuuuugh…." Before raising her arms in defeat. Hera picked her up and took her towards the Ghost. Kanan was right next to Hera. As they got close to the ship, they saw Sabine was coming towards the ship having come down from the upper levels. Seeing Sabine, Nitza immediately became excited. "Is Sabine going to teach me today? What am I learning? I want to learn about my parents."

Hera looked up towards Sabine and for a second the twi'lek froze. She seemed, saddened. Then she said, "I think I'll be teaching you today. And for a little while."

When they got to Sabine, Nitza looked between her and Hera seeing the worry they both had. "What's wrong?"

Sabine pursed her lips before saying, "I'll be going to my homeworld with Kanan and Ezra."

"Mandalore!" Nitza said excitedly, remembering her studies. Then she remembered what happened out when she met them and Sabine was learning to use the darksaber. "Are you going to see your family?"

Sabien knew she had to expect this since the girl overheard her conversation with Ezra back in training. She was ready to answer, "Yep. We're going to Knownest to try and get them to join the Rebellion."

Nitza smiled again. It sounded amazing! She could meet the people she heard in stories. With funny armor like Sabine. But then she frowned again. she remembered one more thing. "What's a traitor"

Again, Sabine was ready but she didn't have the heart to say. Kanan stepped in, "It's like um…. A person breaking a promise. Her family thinks she broke a promise but in reality, she was trying to help them. We hope for them to realize that." Sabine smiled at Kanan. She could not be more thankful the Jedi was coming along on her trip.

Nitza said, "Well, I bet they will. Sabine only wants to do good." Now Sabine just felt like crying. She had so much support. She hoped to gain that when she got to her family. Then Nitza said, "Will you be going soon?"

Sabine smirked. "Well, not yet."


	75. Orphan with a Family

As Fenn helped Kanan prepare the Phantom II, Sabine sat with Ezra makeshift chairs and a table out of crates so that Nitza sat between them. They were looking at a small holo-projector as it showed files and information. "Let's see now…" Ezra began. "What do you want to know?"

"Hmmm…." Nitza thought. "My parents explored, but what exactly is a…. structure…. And resources?"

"Oh ok…." Sabine sifted through files, her eyes scanning left and right as quickly as the words scrolled up. "Here we go." A picture of a man appeared with a certain file. "So your dad was head of structure meaning he was in charge of figuring out how to place buildings in places of hard terrain."

"Hard Terrain?"

"Land that seems impossible to create buildings on."

"oooh…." Nitza looked behind her at the land around them. She tried to imagine tall square shape objects as big as the coral trees. "That makes sense. You can't make buildings unless you cut down trees. And you can't cut down trees here."

Ezra sighed, "I hope your dad thought the way you do."

Sabine then pulled up a picture of a woman and said, "Your mother was in charge of finding sources of food, water, and useful material."

"Foraging!" Nitza yelled excited.

"Yep, something like that."

Nitza thought of her mother finding the stream where Nitza swam and the seed fruit that grew in the groves. Then, in thinking of her mother, Nitza frowned. She thought of how she and her mother could have found the grove together. "I wonder if mommy and daddy…." Nitza couldn't finish.

Sabine knew what she was thinking and said, "I'm sure you and your parents would have loved exploring this world together."

"But how do you know that?" Nitza asked. It's not possible for Sabine to know, or did she?

Sabine seemed to hesitate. She didn't understand this situation enough to explain. Thankfully and unfortunately, someone else with them knew. Ezra put a hand on Nitza's shoulder to get her attention. He said, "So long as you know your parents loved you, you know they would have loved to do anything with you."

Nitza thought about his words. "How do you know it's that way?"

Ezra took a big sigh. Sabine seemed to get nervous but she saw the strength in the boy's eyes. He said, "I lost my parents. And for a time I forgot about them, but when I started to remember them again, I looked back and saw love. So when I think about the possibilities if they were I alive, I know they would be true."

Nitza's eyes widened and she looked away for a second. She remembered Ezra saying to Sabine back in the wilds that she was lucky to have parents to go back to. It could only mean that Ezra didn't. Nitza wasn't alone. She too saw Ezra try to be brave but the slight quiver of his arm showed otherwise. She leaned into his side and said, "It's ok. We know."

Ezra was slightly taken back but figured that she had managed to realize they were both orphans who knew their parents for a short time only to lose them. And orphans had to stick together. Well, he wasn't completely an orphan. "But you know what? I've got a new family. Right here. And they love me just as much as my parents would have. The same with you."

Sabine smiled. This made Nitza move away and look up at Ezra confused. "You mean Hera and Kanan?"

"Everyone."

"Everyone…. can be family?" Before Nitza could even process how that was possible, a call from far off made them look up. Fenn Rua stood outside the Phantom 2 with Kanan. "It's time to go," Kanan called.

Sabine became nervous but Ezra was quick to help her, "Now or never." Both Ezra and Sabine got up. The Mandalorian bent down for a hug and said, "When I get back with the others we can talk more about your family. Ok?"

"Ok," Nitza said. Still slightly in a daze.

Kanan had driven Nitza back to the Pit where Bendu waited. But unlike the first time, Nitza had been quiet this time around. Kanan had asked her what was wrong but she said she was ok. Bendu being who he was didn't ask what was wrong. But he did try and find out after Kanan left. "So, what have you learned about your parents?"

Nitza trudged up to her hollow but stopped outside the entrance. She turned around and said, "They… liked to forage and… build things."

He felt she didn't want to talk. She was distracted. Thinking of something. She wanted to figure it out on her own. "Well, all right then." Bendu laid down on the ground and began to curl up into his camouflage mode. But he still wondered about Nitza. He wanted to know but he wasn't one to pry. It wouldn't be like him.


	76. Best Distraction

Nitza woke up early two mornings later. Bendu was nowhere to be found around the Pit. Nitza took a breath. "Ok, let's go." She crawled out of her hollow wearing her good dress and limbed down the trunk of the tree. When she got to the base she looked around again. No sign of Bendu. She quickly limped up the hill as fast as her hurt leg could let her go. She looked back seeing nothing, but suddenly a shadow came over her. She got to the top she looked to see Bendu suddenly appeared. The giant stood towering in front of her. He asked, "Off to see the Knight and his collogues." Nitza nodded shyly. Bendu then said, "It seems you are still hurt. Going on foot is not a wise decision.

Nitza then shook her head and walked the best she could around him. "I'm ok. I won't hurt myself more."

Bendu watched surprised. She not only skipped greeting him but hadn't caught wind of his desire to help her. Though he wasn't entirely straight forward, Nitza should have known the giant was offering a ride on his back in his own way. Perhaps she did. She knew Bendu in that way. Maybe Nitza knew but decline the offer. Why? She enjoyed riding on his back.

By the time he came out of his thoughts, she had gone over the next hill and was out of sight as she headed towards high trees. Bendu shook his head. He shouldn't be worried about the decline. He should be grateful. He wanted Nitza to be independent. He wanted. Bendu grumbled. He couldn't want.

**))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron ((((((((((((((**

Ezra and Zeb sat on some crates on the supply level. The two had been in charge of bringing them to Ap-5 for inventory, but they both hadn't been feeling any motivation to do anything. It wasn't the same without Sabine. The two had taken the crated to the edge of the leaflet, looking out towards the wilds. They had gotten some cafe to look at the sunrise. The sun had come out already but they played music as they watched the colors of the sky go from a beautiful yellow and orange to blue. Once it was done, the motivation was still not there.

But then they saw her in the distance. Not Sabine. "Nitza?" Ezra almost stated, pointing towards the edge of the transponder border. Said little girl was limping down towards the base of the try. For once in what felt like a while, the two felt compelled to do something.

**))))))))))))))) Atollonians ((((((((((((((((((**

Nitza had almost made it to her when Ze and Ezra met her halfway. Zeb asked, "What do you think you're doing, kid? You're still not healed."

"It doesn't hurt al the time. Just when I lean a lot."

"Which you did a lot I'm guessing all the way from The Pit?" Ezra asked but with a hint of knowing.

Nitza hid her hands behind her back, feeling bad. She just needed to know more. "I wanted to see Sabine."

Ezra and Zeb's frown deepened. They sat Nitza aside and told her what happened, Especially Ezra. He explained how they managed to get Sabine's family to join the rebellion. It came with a catch. They first had to save Sabine's father from the Empire. Which meant Sabine had stayed behind. "She's not coming back?" Nitza asked sadly.

Zeb quickly said, "For now. I mean, she'll be back once she saves her dad."

"How long will it take?"

They had no solid answer. All Ezra could say was, "As long as it takes."

Nitza knew that meant they had no idea. She pulled her knees to her chest and thought. Then she smiled. "Does Sabine's family joining the Rebellion mean her family is… happy? They like her again?"

"They always loved her. They just were afraid of the Empire. When we helped them they started coming together again."

Nitza was happy to hear Sabine was doing fine with her family again. She smiled to let Zeb and Ezra know. But the word love came up. The feeling of confusion came like a wave and she looked down for a bit. Nitza thought she knew the word, but it was still odd. Especially in how they've been using it. Then Nitza looked up when she saw they were quiet. Zeb and Ezra had almost blanked stairs. She figured, after seeing them disheartened by talking about Sabine, that they missed her. Nitza wondered if she could do something.

Maybe she could.

**))))))))))))))) Phoenix Squadron ((((((((((((((**

Suddenly, Zeb and Ezra were standing in the middle of a path full of small holes dug into the ground. From Zeb's shoulders, Nitza pointed out. "These are all dokma holes."

"Oh yeah, that's cool…" Zeb said nervously. He tightened his hold on the transponder in hand. "What about ugh…. The bigger holes." Pointed to the caves in the side of the path.

"Krykna holes more boring. They stay inside."

"Ok, that's good to know."

"Don't worry, Zeb," Ezra assured him with a smirk. "If they come out I can hold them back."

"You said you couldn't connect with them."

"Maybe I can't connect with them, but as long as I'm at peace, they won't hurt us."

"If you're at peace, so what about me?"

Nitza climbed off Zeb's back and limped towards the holes. She bent down on her knees and peered inside a hole. Then she giggled before yelling in, "Peek-a-boo!" two little shelled creatures came out from two other holes. Nitza fell on her back with laughter. Zeb and Ezra smiled as they watched her try and catch her breath. Then she got on her belly and yelled into another hole, "Peek-a-boooooooooo!"

Five more dokma came out from other holes nearby. Then she sat up and said, "Now you. It makes me happy."

"Oh, um…" Ezra looked between her and Zeb. Then he nudged Zeb, "Go on."

"What, why me?"

"So that… I can keep an eye out for the spiders."

Zeb was a bit skeptical, then figured "Yeah, better you than me." He handed the transponder to the boy before going over to Nitza. He kneeled down looked at the girl. She smiled and waited. As long as Zeb wasn't the only one. The Lasat kneeled down and yelled into a hole, " Wake up you shelled freaks!" about twenty dokma all ran out scuttling in a different direction. The amount making Ezra almost double over in laughter.

Nitza also laughed but stopped when she spotted a familiar pattern on one dokma. "Print!" she yelled and grabbed the dokma to bring to a hug.

Zeb sat back watching the scene. He looked at Ezra who stopped laughing but kept smiling. Though they won't forget about Sabine, they were happy Nitza had come. Surprisingly, she was the best distraction


	77. Pranks All Around

Nitza hated missions. Yes, she never had been on one and honestly, she was still trying to grasp the concept. But there was one thing she knew for sure, it made it harder to see her friends.

Hera, Zeb, Ezra, and Chopper had been called on a mission to transfer some Secret Cargo as Kanan had told her. But that was all the man could tell her before he was called to meet Sato at the com level of the base. So Nitza was left on her own. But she didn't want to be. She worried if she turned back to the Pit, Bendu would ask questions. She was still trying to understand the concept of love beyond the family. Nitza couldn't understand why it was hard to talk about that to Bendu. She always told him everything. Until now.

She shook her head of the plaguing thought and walked around the base trying to figure out what to do. She ended up bumping into Gooti. The Theelin girl was sitting outside The Hammer with R3 by her side. She and the droid were working on some device and judging by the tools around her, she was trying to fix it. As Nitza came up behind her, a spark lit up by two wires made Gooti pull back a finger and hiss. "Ahh—stupid—"

"Are you ok, Gooti?" Nitza asked worriedly.

A bit startled, Gooti wiped her head back to see Nitza. "Oh, hi, Nitza. I'm fine. Just a little… hiccup."

Nitza laughed, "That's not a hiccup. A Hiccup is when you make funny sounds after you eat too fast."

"True, but hiccup is also a term for getting stuck on something."

Nitza went, "Oooooo," before sitting down. R3 rolled in closer. The girl smiled and patted him on the side. The droid gave out chirps of joy. Then Nitza asked, "What you stuck on?"

"Fixing the transmitter. I'm almost done." Then Gooti remembered something. "Hey, you want to learn how I fixed it?"

"Yeah!" Nitza said excitedly before scooting closer.

"Ok so see here the—"

A crash from inside The Hammer made the two girls look up for a moment. Suddenly, Jonner was running down the ramp as fast as he could. He stopped outside to catch his breath. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him, a small hatch on top of the Hammer opened up. Mart started to climb out. He had some purple goo on his head which made both Gootii and Nitza confused. Jonner looked up at the girls and said, "Ok, Mart's gonna run out here in a few moments but don't tell him where I'm going."

Mart got to the edge of the ship and stepped back before saying, "They won't have to."

Jonner had little time to say his prayers before Mart jumped off the ship and landed on Jonner with a crash. The girl's winced at it almost sound like boned were broken when they both hit the ground But the two got up unharmed. In their daze, Gooti said coyly, "Jonner pranked you again didn't he?"

"And it's going to be the last time," Mart growled. Jonner managed to recuperate faster than him and he booked it down towards the A-wing. Mart chased after him yelling insults Nitza had never heard of.

Gooti sighed and was about to continue explaining to Nitza her repairs when Nitza asked, "What's a prank?"

"It's when one person plays tricks on another."

"Like a game?"

"A game only one side benefits really. But it's fun."

"Fun. Hmmmmm."

**)))))))))))))))))))) Atollonians (((((((((((((((((((**

Bendu had been asleep all day, Nitza having avoided him once again. He didn't try to stop her this time. He let things got the way they go. But if only he knew he could have stopped what would happen to him.

He woke up around evening, feeling unusual. And it wasn't mentally. It was physically. All around him there were little light jabs on his skin. And the sensation made him laugh. Tickles? He thought to himself astounded. Who, why, and how was he being tickled? He opened his eyes giving a small laugh at the feeling before his eyes landed on his nose. There was a little dokma on his snout. It was eating something that had been placed on him. Like purple go. It smelled of something. Like fruit. He didn't know the name but seeing the dokma eat it off his skin, it had to come from something edible.

The sensation around him still made him laugh and he looked around at his body. It looked like someone had splattered him all around with purple fruit. And the dokma's that lived around here had come to eat off him. "What in… ahhah… forces name?"

A giggle from below him made him look down. He cocked his head to see Nitza had been standing bellow his blind spot the whole time. And she was pointing at him. "I pranked you!"

Oh no… "You learned how to play tricks now, did you?"

"Yep, yep, yep."

Bendu shook his head. But the tickling continued to make him laugh. He even got a better idea to address the situation then scold Nitza. "Well, two can play at that game." He reached down to his left arm where a large smear of fruit had been placed. He then used his fingers to wipe it off and quickly put some on Nitza's head.

"AH! Hey!" She yelped stepping back. She tried to get the stain off but it wouldn't go. Bendu flicked his head up, making the dokma on his nose fly up before it landed on Nitza's hair. "Ah!" she yelped again.

The little dokma licked the fruit off Nitza before squealing in joy. Some of his shelled friends then started to make their way over to Nitza. "No fair!" she yelled, making a pouty face and sitting cross-legged and arms crossed. Bendu laughed, both at the tickling around him and for Nitza's reaction. Nitza saw him laughing and then she too began to laugh.

How long had it been since they had laughed together?


	78. Questionable

Nitza whined. Another week, another mission the Ghost crew was on. Apparently, Wedge and Ap-5 had gone with them this time. But once again, Kanan had stayed behind. "Why don't you go on missions anymore?" Nitza asked as she walked with Kanan around the cargo level of the base.

"Well," Kanan began, "I only go when it requires combat."

"But I heard the last mission ended up having to save someone important and were in a fight with the Empire."

Kanan sighed, "That usually ends up happening, doesn't it? The mission turns out more than expected and the Empire shows up. I would have gone if I knew what would happen. But I can't predict the future."

"So it is possible the Empire will try and stop this new missions?"

"Well since it's just a simple recon mission on an Imperial base, it should be just a get in and get out situation. But who knows. It could get ugly. That's why I trust my crew to get out all right. Besides I've been here heading prep for the battle to free Lothal. I can't really do everything all at once."

Nitza nodded now understanding. Ezra had told her why they were all here on Atollon. To prepare to free his people from the Empire. Which made her ask, "Does Ezra help?"

"Of course. After all, this isn't only for his people but for his parents. But now that he's lieutenant he's got to be on more missions then I am. So I'm helping."

Kanan began to walk up the steps towards the main control level. As they went up together, Nitza asked, "Why his parents?"

"They were the first people to speak up against the Empire for Lothal. In a way, this is how Ezra is continuing their legacy."

"Wow…." Nitza said amazed. Kanan slightly chuckled at the girl's wonder. They made their way around some of the stations. They even passed by Sato and said hello before moving on.

All the while Nitza took in the new information. Just like Sabine, Ezra had a family to fight for and in the end, it would save their entire planet. Zeb told her he lost some of his people on his home planet but found them again on another called Lirasan. He was fighting for them too. She wondered about Hera now. She knew Hera had a dad and her people were from a planet called Ryloth. But now she was curious about what she was doing here. Did Chopper have a reason to be here? Actually, if there was someone who she was more curious about, it was the one right next to her. "Kanan…" She began as the two finished their rounds around the control area. "Why are you here?"

"Like I said I'm helping—oh." He stopped and turned himself to face her. She knew he couldn't see, but she wondered if the Force was telling him something. Now she was worried. Which made Kanan put a hand on her back and motioned her forward as he said, "It's ok."

Moments later Kanan and Nitza sat cross-legged next to each other at the edge of a giant leaf. The had left the main control area and were on the opposite side. Away from people. All that was there was a view of the south side of High Trees. Much like all directions, there was nothing but one coral tree after another. Hills with tunnel entrances. Convors flying. Kanan finally said, "I guess you can say I'm here for everyone. For Ezra, Hera, the entire crew. For the Rebellion."

"That makes sense…" Nitza began. And truthfully, she did. But there was still something she wanted to ask. She didn't know if she should. "What about…."

Kanan turned his head to face the horizon. "My family?" He finished for her. Nitza bit her lip and looked down at her toes, playing with them. She wished she never even tried to bring it up. Kanan seemed to know. He said, "It's ok to ask." HE then turned his head to face her again as he said, "I never knew my parents." Nitza gasped but quickly put a hand over her mouth. "It's all right. Yeah, it's kind of weird but that was how it was at the Jedi Temple. They took children at a young age from their parents so that we would be raised under the discipline of the Order. It wasn't really orthodox to think about it back then but now I see that in a way they were family. Especially my Master. Depa herself questioned the way the Jedi Order ran things, treated me like family because of that reason."

Nitza smiled. Just like Ezra, Kanan found a family other than his parents. Then she frowned again. "And your parents were sad?"

Kanan was quiet for a while. Nitza got nervous. She really stepped over a boundary. Or maybe not. "I won't ever know. Maybe they were. I never really thought about it. I like to think sometimes they were like Ezra's parents. They were proud I was fighting something bigger."

Nitza nodded. "Right, because you fight with Ashla." Then she giggled, happy she knew at least that much about him.

"Yeah."

It got quiet again, this time Nitza was thinking. She believed him at first when he wanted to think that if his parents knew about it, they would be proud of Kanan. But she was still questioning it. Did his parents really give him up that easily? Where the Jedi right to take children away? Kanan, again, somehow knew somewhat of what she was still thinking. "Still doubting, huh?"

She did. Especially knowing what Bendu said about the Jedi. There was too much light, and because of that the darkness came and almost destroyed it. It confused Nitza. She may never be able to understand the Force. She wasn't Force-sensitive like Kanan or Ezra. No matter how long she knew the Bendu, some concepts still eluded her.

Then Kanan said something that seemed to put it to rest. There are many things we will never know. But the future holds more. So we think about that. It's no use being down about something that could never be answered."

Nitza nodded again.


	79. Bond

Nitza had come by the next day after her intriguing conversation with Kanan. She wanted to see if the others would finally be there. They were but she found out in the most surprising way.

The little girl was coming around the Ghost to head up the ramp, but she was met suddenly by a large dark and grey from coming down to her. The little girl yelped and fell back on her bottom. She looked up, a bit scared but curious to see a familiar droid but odd colors. "Chopper?"

The astromech rolled back in surprise to see her, too. When he heard her say his name, Chopper's now red and black head spun around and he pulled out his left arm to wave. Nitza sat up and then crawled up to him. She wanted to put her hand on his crop top. "Why are you not orange?" She asked. Chopper said something in droid speak, but Nitza hadn't been able to learn his language yet. So all she said in response was, "Ummmm."

Hera suddenly came down the ladder into the cargo hold and said, "I thought I heard a familiar voice."

"Oo, oo, me!" Nitza yelled excited as she stood up and waved her hands. "It's me. Nitza."

"Of course," Hera said once she came up behind Chopper. "Kanan told us you've been coming by a lot but we've missed out."

"Yes, but you are here now. Yep, yep, yep!" Then Nitza pointed at Chopper. "Why is he that color."

"Oh? Well, our last mission involved infiltration and Chopper needed to look like an Imperial droid."

"I don't like the color."

"Me neither. I'm so used to Sabine repainting him after I forgot I have to repaint him myself…. Which…." Hera got an idea, "I could use some help."

"Ooo, me, me!" Nitza raised her hands in the air.

Soon the two were sitting down on a rock face that looked out into the wilds. They had two buckets of paint, one orange, and one Hera called a base color. Chopper was in between them with his specs and other important functions covered in plastic to keep the paint off. It didn't stop Chopper from trying to make conversation. He would speak and Nitza would ask what he said. Hera would translate and then respond to Chopper.

Once, Chopper said something that made Hera say, "Ha! Well, we won't see them so you can pick scraps even if you tried."

"What did he say?" Nitza asked.

"Um… he made a joke about yesterday's mission," then Twi'lek began to say to Chopper, "Keep it a little less profane for me to translate to Nitza." Chopper made a sound that was close to someone saying the words, "I know, I know…"

Nitza figured there was more to the mission then Hera and Chopper were letting on. Nitza stopped painting to ask, "Did something else happen?"

"Well, yes um… well, it's hard to explain how it happened but um… Chopper was almost taken away from us."

"Oh no!" Nitza looked at Chopper in wonderment. "But, he's ok now right, because he's here."

"Yes. It just was kind of scary."

"Why?"

Hera seemed to hesitate and she stopped painting as well. For a second Hera wondered how much she could say until Nitza couldn't understand what she was talking about. But if Hera had learned anything, it's that Nitza knew more then what she was capable of learning. And what Nitza didn't know, she learned quickly and sympathized easily. So Hera said, "When it all happened I could only think about two things. One, how do I get him back and two, if I didn't…. nothing would be the same again. He had been with me for so long."

Nitza gasped, "How long?"

"Longer than the other crew members. I had him… I found him… not long after my mother died."

Nitza stopped painting and she looked at Hera surprised. She felt guilty now. She had continued with questions and which made Hera bring up a part of her past that she may not have wanted to reveal in the first place. Nitza put down the paintbrush, and she felt guilty. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to make you sad."

Hera had been worried about how Nitza would take it that Hera forgot how she felt about the subject herself. Of course, this was a topic she rarely discussed since it brought back harsh memories, but in reality, many good memories came with it. "It's not entirely sad. I remember the good times I had with my mother. And after I got Chopper, I have had some great times with him too. When he's not causing trouble at least."

Chopper gave a retort, but Nitza didn't listen to that. Instead, her mind wandered over to the wilds. Hera and Chopper's relationship sounded familiar for a reason. Nitza remembered the last good memories she had of her parents. But as soon as they were gone, Bendu came along. And he had been there for her ever since. She smiled thinking about the times they spent exploring the world together.

"Nitza!"

The girl turned her head back to Hera and said, "Wha-what?"

"I asked if you… oh… you were thinking of something."

Nitza nodded with a smile. "My friend." She didn't know whether it was ok to talk about him, even if she didn't mention his name or what he could do. But she owed it to Hera who already said so much. "My friend. He has been with me the moment my parents… he taught me so much. About Atollon. How to understand it."

"Understand it?"

"To know what seasons are coming. How to live out here. What kind of creatures go where. If my friend did not find me in time, I would have been eaten by krykna." Nitza closed her eyes. She remembered the night. She remembered the fire and then her running away. Just as the creatures closed in on her, Bendu was right there. He was odd at first and back then Nitza didn't understand what he was talking about. But now it was all making sense. "He taught me to understand death, but also understand what to do in life. That I can make choices. He's really, really…. is my friend."

Hera smiled. For the first time since finding out Nitza was with some stranger that she couldn't meet, Hera relaxed. Kanan was right. Hera had nothing to worry about. If Nitza had a strong bond with this person as she had with Chopper, then, of course, the girl was fine.

Chopper gave out a sharp wurp, which Hera replied to, "All right, all right, we get it. Chopper's getting inpatient."

"Oh, right, right, right." Hera and Nitza grabbed their brushes and continued to paint Chopper back to his orange color again.


End file.
